Uganda is seeking partnership that will see big number of visitors to Kenya’s coastal towns and the respective beaches on the coast visit it's safaris.

In the agreement which will compliment both beaches and safaris found in Kenya and Uganda respectively, the two countries will market their tourists destinations as a package.

To harness the opportunities, Uganda’s Consulate in Mombasa has organized the first Uganda Kenya Coast Tourism Conference and exhibition set for November 17th this year.

Uganda's Consulate General in Mombasa Amb.Paul Mukumbya said both countries can benefit from tourist arrivals to each country by selling their respective tourism packages to tourists from abroad.

“The partnership will ensure thousands of tourists visiting either Kenya and Uganda move freely between the two countries. The tourists can have breakfast at the beach and lunch in a safari in Uganda,” said Amb Mukumbya.

In the agreement, the two countries will promote beaches and different tourism products on the coast and adventure tourism in Uganda as one package which will not only increase tourist numbers in the two countries but will create more opportunities for tourism stakeholders.

“In the deal, Uganda Airways will operate direct flight from Mombasa to Entebbe three times a week but we shall also engage other transporters such as tour and bus operators to offer special rates for travelers of the two countries,” said the consulate.

Speaking during a joint media briefing in Mombasa with the Kenya Coast Tourism association (KCTA) officials, the Ugandan Consulate said Uganda has completely different tourism products from Kenya and yet there are so many travelers who come to the Coast.

“We shall be having a conference between Uganda and Kenyan Coast tourism stakeholders on 17th November this year where we shall elaborate more on the way forward,” he said.

The conference will bring together over 100 Uganda tourism players and exhibitors to showcase some of their products and brands at the inaugural event in Mombasa slated for Nov 17.

Amb. Mukumbya said the conference under the theme ‘strengthening Networks, synergies and diversity to maximize the tourism potential between Uganda and the Kenya Coast region’ will be a game changer.

According to Mukumbya, tourism arrivals in Uganda in 2021 stood at 512,945.Out of that,326,387 were from Kenya which he said translated to 63 percent of all arrivals in Uganda.

KCTA chairman Victor Shitakha said the partnership facilitated by both governments will be between the private tours operators of Kenya and Uganda so as to work together to market each other's tourism products.

"The move will create networks and synergies and we are not in competition but we compliment where we shall come up with packages marketed together where we shall sell both safari and beaches as one package,” said Mr Shitakha

After the success of his hit son, ‘Buga’, Nigerian superstar, Oluwatobiloba Daniel, popularly known as Kizz Daniel, is back with another chart-topping hit single titled ‘Cough’, with an accomplishing dance move, ‘Odo.’

The new release has already achieved massive hype as number one on the Top 100 Nigeria Apple Music chart in less than 48 hours on social media and airwaves , and is also one of the singles from an upcoming album ‘WHERE WE COME FROM’ from an International Music Distribution Company, EMPIRE.

The single, with a new dance moves called ‘Odo,’ has not only gained attention from music lovers just last the down-to-up Low-low-low-low steps with lifted shoulders in ‘Buga’ dance; did but also it has another dance steps that sees the dancer squatting with a slight jump back while holding their thigh, which is now trending.

With the official video yet to be released, music lovers and fans have started trending with dance steps and ‘Odo’ challenge, with several dancers posting videos of themselves, including top celebrities Kate Henshaw, Sabinus (MrFunny1) and Brodashaggi, among others.

The much anticipated love song has kept thousands of fans hailing Kizz Daniel for dropping another soon-to-become world anthem, as the new song begins with an actual cough and lyrics stating, “I wanna flex my love,” alongside hit jams.

Kizz Daniel has the undeniable X-factor! Still on his world tour, the entertainment industry’s golden goose recently performed for millions of his fans in Canada, Suriname, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda.

The widely acclaimed singer who’s known for his historic ‘No Bad Songz’ record has bagged numerous successful singles and albums that have become street anthems across Africa and the world, making him one of the most sought-after musicians of his time — as he knows the exact type of music to dish out and continually fan the eternal flame of good music for his fans in Nigeria, Africa and the world.

Stream HERE

Dubai is set to host one of the flagship International FIFA Fan Festivals.

This FIFA World Cup viewing area is projected to host 10,000 fans daily and is set against the iconic Vista at Dubai Harbor, the extraordinary seafront district.

Screening every minute of every game of this year’s FIFA World Cup, on custom designed gigantic 330sqm screens, featuring cutting-edge 4D audio; fans will feel the true ambiance of the games and cheer along with people from around the world with every goal.

 Visitors to the BudX FIFA Fan Festival will be treated to live entertainment with state-of-the-art immersive technology and breath-taking skyline views, brought to you by AB InBev and its flagship brand Budweiser.

Confirmed official event partner is adidas alongside the venue partner Dubai Harbor.

Produced by BRAG, this vibrant entertainment space has been designed to capture the imagination of the public, transforming Dubai Harbor into an extraordinary luxury football and entertainment experience from the 20th of November until the 18th of December.

To add to the thrill of the games, several local and international live acts and DJs will take to the stage both between matches and after the final game of the day, with plenty of games and activities on hand as well, including some exclusive Adidas entertainment, this is set to be the best place to catch the FIFA World Cup moments.

In a bid to ease travel during the world cup; the UAE Government is offering a new multiple-entry visa exclusively for Hayya card holders (those with entry permit into Qatar and stadium access) for a period of 90 days which costs just AED 100.

In addition to over 20 public viewing places and major fan zones, footie takeovers, alfresco events, music, sports festivals, and mega screens, Dubai is well set up for fans to watch the games.

This festival of football will also give attendees the chance to explore some of the most unique F&B offerings, featuring culinary delights, to be enjoyed throughout the greatest sporting event on earth.

 With some delicious light bites, juicy burgers, tasty finger food, and plenty of beverages for the legal drinking age consumers As an official FIFA partner, adidas is set to introduce a 1050sqm experiential space within the official FIFA Fan zone where football fanatics will be able to watch matches, test products, meet their favourite legends, shop localised product and watch the games inside the adidas space.

The Al Rihla Camp is an unrivalled football and entertainment experience and immersive brand space that aims to bring to life the love of the game through engaging activations with regional football clubs and communities, as well as exclusive retail experiences and content creation spaces.

 Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) note “ As we gear up to welcome football fans and sports enthusiasts, this FIFA-endorsed event at Dubai Harbour will further reinforce Dubai’s position as an international events hub and serve as a catalyst to the growth of sports tourism in line with the vision of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the most visited city and the best place in the world to live and work.”

Adding “ Every FIFA World Cup provides us an opportunity to bring the festivities to Dubai too, and the FIFA Fan Festival will ensure that Dubai with its deeply rooted traditions in sport will once again be a focal point for the football fraternity. The special celebration of football across our city will also perfectly complement the diversity of leisure, lifestyle, and sports offerings that Dubai is promising residents and visitors throughout the FIFA World Cup season.”

 The BudX FIFA Fan Festival™ at Dubai Harbour is set to be the best backdrop for this 21+ event. Opening 2 hours before the first kick-off every day right up until 3am, visitors are encouraged to use public transport for this unrivalled viewing unique experience.

Over 170 people from 20 different countries are expected to converge at Likoni, Mombasa county for the signs, wonders and peace festival.

The five day festival organised by the SOS adventure under Austrian native evangelist Johannes Amritzer is expected to kick off on 26th October to 30th October.

"This will not be a normal crusade of evangelists but a holistic gospel, we have come not only to preach the gospel but also do something for the people here" said Amritzer, founder SOS adventure

Adding "We have chosen Likoni because it is impoverished and there have been issues of insecurity here and we believe when we preach the gospel that is the only solution. I'm a good example, I was a criminal but I put away the knife and the life of crime after hearing the gospel."

The festival will be graced by Tanzanian gospel singers Rose Muhando, Miriam Lukindo and Julia Wilkander fromSweden.

There will be daily street outreaches with dancing and dramas and nightly festivals. During the festivals , Johannes uses music and illustrated talks to present the gospel and a message of peace , hope and love.

Over 6,000 residents are also expected to benefit from free medical clinic.

SOS adventure will also conduct a seminar on how to start a new business targeting the locals. Other activities include distribution of reusable hygiene kits for girls to local schools.

"We started in DRC went to Burundi and Dakar ,Senegal and this will be the sixth episode and we call upon all Mombasa residents to come out and attend this festival, it is not just a normal festival. You will not regret it " said Amritzer.

The SOS adventure organization is partnering with the Mombasa pastors fellowship to make the event a success.

"We are very happy that this festival is finally here in Mombasa, we believe the activities lined up will bring a change to Likoni and Mombasa at large." said pastor Zechariah Mwagandi, Chairman Mombasa pastors fellowship.

Adding "We are here not just to preach the gospel but bring change to our people. Those attending the festival from different countries will also help boost our local economy because they will sleep, eat and use our local things, so this is a positive thing and we thank our county and national governments for being coperative and ensuring that we get all the necessary documents and licenses to have this festival."

Tanzanian music sensation Harmonize is set to release his new album this week.

The album titled '“Made For Us” will be released on Friday. The album has 14 tracks.

Taking to his social media platform instagram, Harmonize teased the new piece of art.

The second song off the album “my way” which he teased narrates his love life with all the women he has dated from Jacky Wolper, Sarah and Briana.

The artists featured on the album are Spice, Ntosh Gazi, Nak, Bruce Melodies and Abigail Chams.

This will be Harmonize's third album after Afro East released in 2020 and High School released in 2021.

A Zimbabwean-written, directed, and produced the anti-poaching film - Gonarezhou The Movie, produced by Tariro Washe, is set to premiere in Kenya on Friday 3rd November 2022 at the Westgate Mall.

Gonarezhou The Movie, written and directed by award-winning director Sydney Taivavashe raises awareness against poaching, human trafficking, and human-wildlife conflict.

This production showcases Zimbabwe’s filmmaking talent whilst highlighting real social issues. It was produced in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

The film’s awards include Best First Feature at its World Premiere at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and was an Official Selection at the prestigious Monaco Streaming Film Festival in May 2022.  

Watch the movie trailer here https://youtu.be/LE5H5cly-kk

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Gonarezhou: The Movie is a crime story of a young man called Zulu who joins a notorious armed poaching group after a series of misfortunes in his life. In the chaos that ensues, he finds love and must navigate out of this highly charged environment to meet his fate, good or bad. The story was inspired by the killings of 300 elephants by poachers using cyanide in 2013.

The film, shot in Zimbabwe in 2019, is produced by Zimbabwean Producer, Actor, and Conservationist Tariro Washe, who also stars in the movie as Sargent Onai.  The film boasts an all-star cast that includes Tamy Moyo, Eddie Sandifolo, Tendaiishe Chitima, Tinashe Nhukarume, Charles Mzemba, Jackson Chavhanga, Courage Murambadar, and Tawanda Mazvanya.

The Film Director behind the movie, Sydney Taivashe opened up on the inspiration for the film, “Gonarezhou: The Movie is meant to raise awareness of cruel acts against wildlife in Africa with a purpose to instill a sense of responsibility and fear to those who might be considering poaching as a way to gain quick riches”.

ACCOLADES

"Gonarezhou The Movie", (GTM) won the Best First Feature Film Award at the 2020 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. GTM was also a finalist at the 2020 Flickers’ Rhode Island (USA) International Film Festival and has been nominated for National Art Merit Award's Outstanding Feature Film 2022 (Zimbabwe). Recently, GTM was selected for screening at the prestigious Monaco Streaming Film Festival 2022.

KENYAN SCREENING EVENT PROGRAM

The premiere presents an opportunity for dialogue, interaction, and networking between young people, conservation stakeholders, and local filmmakers on how the shaping of narrative can be mutually beneficial.

This event will be divided into two; the movie screening and a panel discussion. It will be attended by an invited audience that includes guests drawn from the Kenyan and Zimbabwean Governments, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Zimbabwe Nationa Parks, and Wildlife Management Authority, conservation organizations, human-wildlife conflict activists, filmmakers, journalists, media personalities, and influencers.

According to the organizers, this premiere will take place at the Westgate Cinema. Doors will open at 5.30 pm for the safari-themed red-carpet event, at 6.15 pm there will be opening remarks from the Cabinet Secretaries who will be present and then the movie screening will begin at 6.30 pm.

After the screening, there will be a panel discussion from 8.00 pm to 8.30 pm to reflect on the African Solutions to African Conservation Problems followed by closing remarks and a vote of thanks at 8.40 pm. Those in attendance will also take a sneak peek at Ms. Washe’s upcoming new film.

Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir on Monday officially opened the third County Assembly of Mombasa.

In his maiden speech to the assembly, Nassir outlined his agenda for the county promising the MCAs goodies.

Among the issues Nassir promised to undertake is the creation of ward development funds.

"I, as the leader of the implementing arm of Government shall respect the role that you play as duly elected representatives of the people. And in turn, you as the voice of the people, shall play a supportive and oversight role to the Executive to ensure that we deliver on development programs." said Nassir.

Adding "It is in light of the importance of this relationship, that I have instructed the Office of the County Attorney to explore a legal framework to set up the Mombasa County Ward Development Fund. Devolution was meant to bring development to the lowest administrative unit which is the ward."

The governor also promised to deal with the issue of revenue collection which he said has heavily affected county services thus causing suffering to the residents.

Nassir charged "I am pleased to report to this Honorable House that since taking office, just over a month ago, we have taken critical steps to jumpstart our county finances. I began by reorganizing and revitalizing revenue collection in the County of Mombasa."

" This process has led to the improvement in the collection of own source revenue by up to seventy percent. If we continue with this trend, with the support of the residents of Mombasa, we will be able to deliver services more efficiently and effectively." he added.

Nassir also revealed that he will be presenting several bills in the house including the finance bill 2022/2023 which he said will completely revolutionize the business environment and tax regime in Mombasa.

"We will become the most business friendly county and start ups will flock to us because of our new proposed policies to zone levies in Mombasa. We will bring down the cost of licensing for tuk tuks, public service vehicles and start while making the process digital, transparent and devoid of human interaction that may occasion corrupt practices."

He further promised to address  the burden of a bloated wage bill that has made it near impossible to facilitate development.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is mourning the death of the Directorate’s lead creative designer Boniface Muganda.

According to a statement from the Directorate, Muganda was hit by a speeding motorist Saturday night along the northern by-bass at Marurui, near Ashaki club.

Muganda who is attached to the Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Unit was headed home on his motorbike when a speeding motorist hit his bike and took off, leaving the officer sprawled on the tarmac metres away from his bike.

According to first responders, who rushed the detective to Kenyatta University hospital following the 9:40pm incident, Muganda who was groaning in pain breathed his last at the hospital’s gate, just before doctors could attend to him. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

"Muganda was a hardworking, self driven and dedicated officer who performed his duties outstandingly and got along well with colleagues from across all cadres." reads the statement.

Adding "He was a gifted Communications Officer whose skills in photography, videography and graphics design propelled him to head the creative design desk at the DCI’s Comms unit.".

The detective who has previously served at the forensic photographic and acoustics unit was the creative artist behind the latest edition of the DCI Magazine among other assignments including the coverage of last Thursday’s Mashujaa day celebrations at Uhuru gardens.

Investigations into the accident have already began.

Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir will on Monday officially open the third County Assembly of Mombasa.

This comes just weeks after members of the assembly (MCASs) concluded their induction at a hotel in Nairobi. 

The members were officially sworn in last month where they also re-elected Aharub Khatri as the speaker of the assembly. 

Khatri was elected unopposed after nine other candidates who had shown interest in the position failed to submit their duly filed nomination papers before the deadline date.

It is expected that governor Nassir will also address the House.

During the Mashujaa Day celebration held at Mama Ngina waterfront last Thursday, Nassir said his first agenda will be to ensure that the MCAs help him in identifying needy students and families from their wards, to benefit from his NHIF and bursary programme.

“I want to bring a change from what has been happening, on Monday we will open our county assembly but before that I want MCAs and ward administrators to sit and identify 200 people who will benefit from NHIF and 200 others who will be educated for free, so that we can uplift them,” said Nassir.

Nassir is yet to appoint county executives who will serve at different dockets.

Fast rising star Guchi is back with a new jam "I Swear" featuring the award winning Yemi Alade. 

For her new single "I Swear", Nigeria's purple pop princess Guchi incorporates Yemi Alade's vocals over a soothingly steady afro-groove produced by ChechDaProducer. 

Guchi, and Yemi's chemistry is unmatched in this new single as is seen on the video out on YouTube. This release marks the last lap before the delivery of Guchi's second studio project out soon.

Speaking about the latest project, Guchi opines. "I am super excited about this song and the fact that i got to work with one of Nigeria’s top female artiste, this just shows hardwork and consistency clearly pays. It has been my dream to work with Yemi Aladr and our stars finally aligned and we have this masterpiece to show for our efforts". 

While Guchi is the crowned queen of heartbreak pop, this song represents a different phase of the cycle that produced hits like Jennifer and Shattered. 

“I Swear” addresses steadfast love and its calming effect on a satisfied partner. Guchi and Yemi Alade go verse for verse, in the appraisal of a lover who ticks all the boxes.

Guchi acknowledges the insanity of this kind of love and Yemi pledges her availability, pleading for the emotional frequency to be maintained.

The product is a contending fan-favorite, laced with millennial appeal and bursting through the borders of their unique demographics. Killing two birds with one song, Guchi’s fulfillment of working with Yemi Alade also quenches the thirst of fans who have long hoped for the duo to collaborate.

The Speedometer hitmaker has been giving us jam after jam and we cant wait for the next release.