South African group, Hush SA are the 2021 winners of the pan-African Old Mutual Amazing Voices crown and will walk away with a massive $ 100 000.  

After securing 5 Golden Voice wins for best performance throughout the season, Africa chose Hush SA as the winners of the sensational pan-African singing competition during a spectacular finale on Sunday evening (4 July 2021).

The finale was simulcasted on Mzansi Magic, Mzansi Wethu, (South Africa) Africa Magic (Nigeria), Maisha Magic (Kenya) Zambezi Magic (Zimbabwe) and Akwaaba (Ghana).

The group has taken their first small steps to achieve their dreams and do great things, not only at home but beyond to become global music sensations.  

An all-male Gospel group of six members, formed as a brotherhood of childhood friends spanning over a ten-year period. Tsholofelo Ntuli,  Phumlani Tshabalala, Sinethemba Magubane, Zamokuhle Nkosi, Thamsanqa Mthabela, Nicholas Malimba also known as Hush SA to their new fans who have followed their progress across the DStv Amazing Voices competition, all hail from Johannesburg, South Africa.  

The group entered the second season of Old Mutual Amazing Voices competition that attracted 546 initial online video entries from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa and have achieved stardom. 

Little did they know that their initial entry would see them beginning a long and rewarding process that would end in Johannesburg in June this year with an ultimate victory in Africa’s premier acapella event.

At the same time, they were awarded with the benefits of learning the skills and gaining the important insights needed for groups to succeed in the challenging world of music. 

Carol Kipsanai Group Head of Marketing, EA - UAP Old Mutual says “Our purpose at Old Mutual is to champion mutually positive futures across all the African markets in which we operate. 

This competition enables us to connect with Africans through the universal language of music and demonstrate that with the right financial partner, anyone can do great things and become their exceptional best. We have seen exactly this with the winners of Season 2 Amazing voices and congratulate Hush SA for their well-earned success” 

It all began in October 2020, when, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, entrants were encouraged to submit online performance videos to Old Mutual and DStv for review and selection.

The winner’s opposition, drawn from the five countries included in the competition, were like them, all unsigned groups looking to take their careers to a new level.  

After an initial screening process, Hush SA advanced to the second gruelling step; attending closed auditions within their own country before celebrity judges (where two groups from each country were selected).

The group then succeeded in being elected to become part of the Amazing Voices Season 2 ‘Top 10 and got to attend an intensive musical Bootcamp at Sun City, about an hour from Johannesburg. 

The Covid bubble production and musical bootcamp at Sun City kicked into gear with the Top 10 unsigned groups, involving a total of 65 contestants.

The production required the  employment of 187 people to make the magic happen, a clear demonstration of DStv and Brightfire TV’s passion to empower creatives in the film and television industry.

Approximately 84 rooms were catered for over the 30 days of production and 315 COVID-19 antigen tests and 116 PCR tests were done with the crew and contestants on a regular basis with no positive cases reported. 

During the bootcamp at Sun City, the surviving groups, ranging between four and eight members, were put through vocal as well as stage presence training.

They were mentored by Khaya Mthethwa to refine their musicality. During this extreme three weeks the finalists prepared for the final phase sing-off by having their vocal and performance abilities honed by the Amazing Voices team.

The drama, the build-up, and tensions of Africa’s prime musical event has been eagerly followed by a pan African TV audience since Amazing Voices Season Two launched in April.

For many contestants not only Hush SA’s, it was their first exposure to the glittering but demanding world of world-class TV productions.  

What happened next may now be history but has left South Africa with an accolade of national singing sensations whose voices could be the ticket to international stardom and further ambassadorship for the country and its people. 

“MultiChoice Kenya believes that music is an international language that crosses borders and brings people of different nationalities together. We are happy to have been able to broadcast this competition to our DStv and GOtv customers as well as proud that 121 Selah represented our country and emerged as this season’s winner. We will continue to air content which showcases and recognises great African talents and our rich heritage.” says, Nancy Matimu, Managing Director at Multichoice Kenya.

Garden City Mall hosted a shopping spree contest at the newly opened Carrefour Market which is owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in Kenya.

The participants were challenged to shop for items from specific categories in less than 2 minutes 30 seconds.

The winners clinched Carrefour shopping vouchers while all items picked during the shopping spree were later donated to Missionaries of Charity, Home of Peace Ruaraka (Ngumba) by the Garden City Mall team.

Renowned Content Creator Sharon Mwangi emerged the winner in the high adrenaline shopping spree that was moderated by content King and Comedian Njugush.

The new store, which is now open to the public, will operate as a Carrefour Market, with a focus on stocking a wide range of food items and selected non-food items alongside small electrical appliances. 

Motorists using the Makupa causeway should brace themselves for disruption of traffic beginning Saturday, July 10.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) announced today (Tuesday) the closure of the Island bound carriageway on the causeway, all affected traffic will be diverted to the Nairobi bound carriageway which will then serve as the way in and out of Mombasa.

According to the Authority the diversion is to allow for the construction of the Makupa bridge and approach roads along the road.

"The works are being undertaken by M/S China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCC) and are due completion on or before January 4 2022" reads a statement from KENHA.

Adding "We urge all motorists to follow the signange and guidance provided by the traffic police and marshalls available to enable smooth traffic flow across the causeway."

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday commissioned the construction of the Sh4.5 billion Makupa bridge on December 2020.

The bridge which will replace the historic Makupa Causeway will offer a seamless flow of traffic in and out of Mombasa Island.  It is expected to be 450-metre long.

Plans for the long-awaited compensation for the fishers affected during the construction of the first berth of the Port of Lamu have been finalized and compensation shall commence soon, this is  according to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA)

According to a statement from KPA,  the LAPSETT Chairpersons committee met this week and approved the recommendations made by the Fishermen Compensation Task Force earlier on this month. A total of 4734 fishersshall be compensated.

"In the meantime,a consent note which has been agreed by all parties shall be filed in court to bring to a close the legal proceedings to hasten the compensation exercise." reads part of the statement.

Adding "The fishers through the Beach Management Units(Beach Management Units) leadership and the County government have been asked to ensure that they have submitted their correct bank accounts to ease payments of cash compensation."

In the lead up to the operationalization of the first berth of the port of Lamu, the need to conclude the compensation before completion and operationalisation of the works on the first three berths was prioritized.

Accordingly, the task force on fishermen compensation task force was reconstituted and facilitated to complete the process of identifying the list of 4734 beneficiaries as outlined in the Lamu County report tabled in the High Court.

Kenya Ports Authority as the project proponent facilitated and embarked on a two-week exercise running from 25th April to 8th May 2021 that entailed verifying and validating 4,734 fisher folks who will be compensated as stipulated in the adopted report presented to the court.

Following the meetings in Lamu, the Task Force planned a one-week workshop in Watamu from 3rd May to 7th May 2021 to finalize on all items needed to progress compensation to the fishers.

The Agenda for the Watamu workshop entailed Verification and Compilation of the final list of fishers for compensation, negotiation on the fishers’ proposed breakdown of compensation items, identification of the entity to undertake compensation, and agreement on a consent note on compensation of fishermen.

At the end of the verification process, the final list of 4734 fishers to receive compensation was arrived at and was signed by the BMU leadership and the Lamu County government.

In may 2021, hundreds of fishermen took to the streets of Lamu to protest delayed compensation from the government, following a successful petition at the Malindi High Court in May, 2018 which  ruled in favour of the fishermen indicating that the project had failed to meet basic constitutional and legal requirements.

The fishermen were to start receiving the monies before May 15.

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) MD Eng Salim Rashid has proceeded on leave pending his retirement.

According to a source, the governmnet has appointed former Kenya ambassador to Djibouti John Mwangemi to step in acting capacity as the government prepares to appoint a substantive managing director.

The appointment takes effect from today, July 1st.

"Ambassador Mwangemi was introduced to the board by treasury CS Ukur Yatani today (Thursday) morning during a meeting at the headquarters " said the source.

Before being appointed as acting managing director, Salim was the general manager in charge of technival services. He has been in the office since March last year after the resignation of Daniel Manduku.

During the commissioning of Lamu port in May last year, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani revealed that the government has  slowed down the recruitment of the managing director to pave way for the launch of the new port.

We did not want a lot of instability at this stage because the takeoff of the Lamu port is very important. However, very soon we will unveil the new MD,”  Yatani said.

http://ommydalla.co.ke/people/item/2140-six-candidates-shortlisted-for-kpa-md-job

Consumer goods manufacturer Pwani Oil Products Limited, has partnered with the Ministry of Education and Kenya Primary School Headteachers Association (KEPSHA) to roll out an essay writing competition for Standard 6 and 7 pupils in public primary schools across the 47 counties.  

The competition, sponsored by Pwani Oil’s Sawa soap brand, is themed “Colors in Life” and seeks to sharpen creative writing and thinking skills among pupils.

Over 23,000 public primary schools are expected to participate in the contest that runs from July 1-31.   

Pwani Oil Commercial Director Rajul Malde says the competition’s primary aim is to offer a platform for the pupils to bring out the best side of life creatively, partly inspired by the challenges they face due to disruption of learning by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Creative writing is one way of helping children understand the world we live in by giving them a voice to express their ideas and thoughts, a platform to explore their talents and imagine limitless life’s possibilities, even during tough times,” said Malde during the ceremony to launch the competition in Mombasa.  

He cited research conducted by the National Literacy Trust in the UK singling out creative writing as playing an important role in supporting the wellbeing of children and young people during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“We aspire through this competition, to inspire our children to recreate the world they live in through written expression. This is not just a writing competition but also an opportunity for participants to share their ideas and personal journeys with the world,” said Malde.  

KEPSHA National Chairman Johnson Nzioka hailed the initiative saying it would go a long way in improving the education standards in Kenya. 

“The contest will not only strengthen the value of accumulating knowledge to improve writing skills and creative thinking, but also earn participants recognition beyond the classroom. This is what the new learning curriculum is all about, that is, teaching children to be all-rounded characters especially in their areas of God-given talents,” said Nzioka at the launch ceremony.  

Pwani Oil is sponsoring the initiative while KEPSHA will assist in mobilizing participation across the 47 counties and overseeing the adjudication process.

Of the top five essays shortlisted in each county, that is a total of 235, a panel of nine judges will pick the best five nationally.  

The five winners will be rewarded with an educational tour of the coastal region including first-hand experience of Pwani Oil’s Kikambala Plant, the largest soap and edible oil manufacturing facility in East and Central Africa.

They will also receive certificates, trophies and assorted gifts.  

Creative expression is seen as an important aspect of nurturing responsible citizens capable of contributing positive ideas to society.

The KEPSHA National Chairman advocates for writing skills as a way of promoting innovative ideas and solutions to society’s problems. 

He disclosed that the partnership between KEPSHA and Pwani will also involve other education sector stakeholders. “I wish to announce that the Pwani Oil Limited/KEPSHA essay writing competition will be held annually to appreciate the writing talents of pupils across the country.”  

KEPSHA is the representative body for over 26,000 head teachers in all the public primary schools in Kenya. 

Malde said the competition theme is based on the Sawa brand philosophy of “Bringing colors to life” which is about bringing out the positive elements in people’s lives.

Launched in 2008, Sawa has since grown to be one of the most popular bathing soap brands in Kenya, also available as hand wash and body wash. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta has decried the rising cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Africa saying the situation had reached global emergency levels.

He said Covid-19 had exacerbated the already dire global GBV situation and called for urgent corrective action by the international community.

"Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation, and turned Gender Based Violence into a global emergency. Emerging data indicates a surge of at least 25% in violence against women around the world," President Kenyatta said.

The Kenyan Head of State spoke on Wednesday evening during a panel discussion at the opening session of Generation Equality Forum (GEF) in Paris, France. GEF is a global gender equality gathering convened by UN Women and co-hosted by Mexico and France.

President Kenyatta, who is accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), James Macharia (Infrastructure), and Prof Margaret Kobia (Gender), is in Paris on a two-day Official Visit during which he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

President Kenyatta noted that GBV is a global challenge affecting over 36 percent of women aged between 15 and 49 years and pointed out that Africa had recorded a spike in gender related violence in the last one year.

He said Cameroon (35%), South Africa (37%), Central African Republic (50%), Liberia (50%), and Kenya (50%) had recorded some of the highest increases or GBV on the African continent in the last twelve months.

Once again, President Kenyatta reiterated Kenya's commitment to ending all forms of GBV by the year 2030 saying, the country will continue tightening its anti-GBV policies by adopting relevant international treaties including the ILO Convention 190.

"Kenya has made significant progress in addressing Gender Based Violence. I have made a personal commitment to end Female Genital Mutilation during my tenure and to end all forms of Gender Based Violence by 2030 as envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals," he said.

He said Kenya will invest over 23 million USD in GBV prevention programmes by 2022, and increase budgetary allocation to 50 million USD by 2026. The investment will include an annual 1 million USD research fund and a GBV survivors kitty.

Further, President Kenyatta announced Kenya's elaborate plans to introduce data supported policies in its anti-GBV efforts including a specific module in next year's annual demographic health survey, roll out of an electronic information management system, and integration of GBV in the country's ambitious universal health coverage program.

On enforcement of GBV laws and policies, President Kenyatta said Kenya will implement an integrated national police service response mechanism dubbed 'policare' as well as establish GBV recovery centres in all of its 47 counties.

At the session hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and attended by several global leaders among them UN Secretary General Antonio Guteress and EU Council President Charles Michel, President Kenyatta rallied the international community to commit more financial resources to the global fight against GBV.

"To meaningfully deliver on these commitments will require substantial funding. It is my hope that a key outcome of the GEF will be a significant increase in funding from international partners to boost domestic efforts to eliminate GBV," President Kenyatta said.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel also addressed the opening session of the three-day global conference.

Other notable speakers were Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, President of Mexico Andres Obrador and his Argentina counterpart Alberto Fernandez as well as former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and President of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina.

 In their speeches, Prime Minister Marin and Mrs Gates announced financial commitments of 150 million Euros and 2.1 billion US Dollars in new funding for the global gender equality agenda.

Former Baraka fm presenter Eliakim Mwachoni has finally made a comeback to the media industry after a three - year hiatus.

He has been appointed as Head of Radio Ngoma.

Radio Ngoma is a new station based in Kitale Town, it will formally start broadcasting on July 1st. It will mainly cover the North Rift and Western Regions.

Mwachoni will also be hosting the breakfast show, Power breakfast that will feature discussions on current issues and newspapers reviews among other issues.

Speaking to Ommy Dallah, Mwachoni said "I am ready to face this new challenge and I thank God for this opportunity" 

Adding " As you know I also used to host the breakfast show at Baraka fm, so it is not something new. Listeners should be ready for new, fresh and unique content from us as Radio Ngoma".

Mwachoni left Baraka fm in 2018 to pursue personal business.

Tanzanian RnB heartthrob Juma Jux has just acquired a new Mercedes Benz AMG.

The singer shared the good news with his fans on Monday evening, posting live instagram videos  of the new German machine being delivered at his home in Daresalaam.

The most surprising part is that the 'Unaniweza' hitmaker has decided to name the new car 'Huddah'.

In a previous interview with one of the local news outlets in Tanzania, Jux said he regards her as his sister though admitting that that she possesses 80 per cent of the qualities that he says he is looking for in a woman.

“Ni msichana mrembo, ana asilimia kama themanini hivi ya vigezo ninavyovihitaji kwa mwanamke, lakini hiyo haifanyi mimi na yeye tukawa wapenzi, namheshimu kama dada yangu na tumekuwa tukishirikiana sana kwenye kazi, isitoshe Hudah ana mtu wake,” said Jux.

In a separate interview, Huddah on her part disclosed that she is smitten; charmed by Jux’s swag and looks, and, underscored that she would not mind if the two dated.

Huddah was quoted saying "I think he is a man I can get into a relationship with. He is single I think and I am available too. I love his swag, he knows how to look good,''

More fuel was added to the fire after they were spotted together in Zanzibar last year (2020) and kept on sharing similar videos on their social media pages.

In one of the videos, Huddah was spotted in all her immaculate glory standing in the background of Jux’s shot that he took while posing with a horse. Another video showed her relaxing at a balcony with a man's foot in black sandals similar to those worn by Jux on that similar day as he had shared on his instagram.

Tanzanian singer Harmonize has suffered a setback after his latest song 'Sandakalwe' was pulled down from You Tube.

The song was blocked  after a copyright infringement claim from music distribution company,Empire.

"This video contains content from EMPIRE, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds” reads a message from YouTube. 

The audio which was released on Friday, June 25 had already attracted over 600,000 views on You Tube and was among the trending songs.

Harmonize's management, Konde Gang has not yet released any statement concerning the issue so far.

This is not the first time that Harmonize is going through the experience, in 2020 July, a song (Amen) he had just released was pulled down on copyright claims, this is after Rosa Ree claimed Harmonize had sampled beats from her hit song Kenyor Aleng’.

In November 2019, the song UNO was also pulled down from YouTube after Kenyan Producer Magix Enga filed a copyright strike. He also accussed Harmonize of sampling his work without permission.