A total of 42 countries from Africa, North and South America, Middle East, Asia and Australia are expected to participate in the 11th edition of the Mombasa Open Tong-IL Moo-Doo championships.

The competitions are slated for December 9 to 20 at the Aga Khan Gymnasium with over 400 participants expected to compete in different categories.

Addressing the media at the Kenya Tong-IL Moo-Doo Federation headquarters in Mombasa, the federation chair Master Clarence Mwakio said they were ready for the competition despite facing financial challenges to host the tournament.

“Last year we faced a huge challenge because we received no support from the government, but despite the hurdle we managed to pull a successful event,” said Mwakio.

Mwakio said that they have a budget of Sh589 million to fulfill all its budgetary obligations.

The federation is seeking Sh272 million from the government to support the main event hosting budget and the national team Jasiri.

The World Tong-IL Moo-Doo federation he said had agreed to sponsor part of the budget with Sh106 million with participating countries covering Sh105 million

“We spoke with the ministry of sports last year informing them of our intention to host the event this year, we also sent reminders but are yet to get a response. But we remain hopeful that the ministry is going to respond,” Mwakio said.

He lauded the continued working relationship between the federation and the government as he called for fair treatment of all sports federation.

Mwakio who is also the president of the Africa Tong-IL Moo-Doo Federation said that if all sports were to be treated equally in the country, then the sports in Kenya will go far.

Kenya he said is a focal point for the growth and development of the sport across the continent and by hosting the Mombasa Open Tong-IL Moo-Doo Championships is putting Kenya on the world map.

“We wish all sports federations are treated equally because there are no big or small sports. In fact we need to support the said ‘small’ sports to get to the level of the so-called ‘big’ sports,” he said.

Despite team Kenya still owing the federation allowances from last year’s tournament, Mwakio said that they are in high spirit and expect to retain the overall title in the competition.

Mwakio said that it was sad to note that the county government of Mombasa has failed to support the past ten editions of the tournament missing out on the huge potential of leveraging on and promoting sports tourism.

A reply letter seen by Star dated November 8 informed the federation that they could not get any support from the county due to harsh economic times.

“This is a city named tournament that was approved by the world federation after I put in a request. The aim is to promote the sport and boost sports tourism,” said Mwakio.

Tong-IL Moo-Doo has been in Kenya for the last 35 years.

The sport has presence in 12 counties as the federation seeks to role the sport to all the 47 counties by the end of 2025.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday held a meeting with the family of the late Coast musician Ally B at his official residence in Mombasa.

During the breakfast meeting which was attended by Ally B's wife, son and brother, Gachagua promised to support the family.

The DP offered to pay school fees for Ally B's so who is currently in form three at Concordia Secondary School.

"The DP through former Starehe Mp Charles Njagua 'Jaguar' requested to meet the family. As you know the Ally B was a close ally of the president and his deputy, he played a big role in their campaigns" said Presenter Gates Mgenge who was part of the team that met the DP.

Adding" As you are also aware Ally B was the bread winner of the family and his passing has left a huge gap in the family, the DP promised to stand with them. He offered the wife a business capital and promised to ensure that Ally B's sister and brother get a job.''

The DP also delivered President William Ruto's condolence message to the family.

This comes just few days after Coast artists held a candle light memorial for the late singer who passed few weeks ago.

The Kenya Ports Authority KPA has denied doing business with missing businesswoman Ann Njeri who had claimed to have imported 100,000 metric tons of diesel valued at Sh17 billion into the country.

Addressing the media at the KPA headquarters in Mombasa Monday afternoon, KPA board chairman Benjamin Tayari noted that there were a lot of disparities in the alleged original bill of lading circulated widely purporting to the cargo imported by the businesswoman, as opposed to what they had in their possession.

According to the bill of lading shared online, Njeri through her company Anns import and Export Limited imported the cargo from Azerbaijan which was loaded at the port of Jedda in Saudi Arabia aboard vessel MT Haigui on October 9 and arrived at the port of Mombasa on October 11.

Tayari however said that it was impossible for a vessel to travel from Jedda to Mombasa in two days adding that Njeri’s company was not even in the list of consignees as stated in the original manifest that KPA has.

“Information available to us show that the vessel loaded her cargo of 93,460 metric tons of gas oil under four bills of lading between September 26 and 28 at Yanbui-Samref terminal in Saudi Arabia and departed for Jeddah arriving on September 29 for cargo dropping and sampling before departing for Mombasa on September 30,” said Tayari.

The vessel he said tendered her notice of readiness and called on the port of Mombasa on October 11 under the agency of Sturrock Shipping Kenya limited.

The ship Tayari said according to their manifest berthed at the port on November 4.

“Out of the manifested 93,460 metric tons of gas oil, 49,091.724 of it was destined to Kenya with the shipper being MS Aramco nominated by the ministry of energy and petroleum,” Tayari said.

The remaining 44,368.763metric tons was transit cargo destined for Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic republic of Congo.

The vessel commenced discharge on November 5 according to the consignees and the respective portion of bulk cargo as listed in manifest submitted by ship agent and KPA confirmed that Anns Import and Enterprises limited was not one of manifested consignees.

"Unlike bill of lading, the document is signed by stated shipper and not the master of the vessel, the cargo said to be manifested in the bill of lading is 100,000kgs equivalent to 84,000 metric tons only which is approximately 0.09 percent of the total product carried by the vessel.”

“Further the duration from Jeddah to Mombasa was 10 days and therefore it is impracticable for the vessel to have loaded in Jeddah on 9 October 9 yet she arrived in Mombasa on October 11, just after two days which is impossible,” he said.

Other anomalies observed in the purported bill of lading he said is that the origin of cargo is indicated Azerbaijan Republic loaded at Jeddah which he said was contrary to the origin which was Yanbui-Samref terminal in Saudi Arabia before heading to the port of Jedda.

The product he said is indicated as diesel which is contrary to the cargo indicated as gas oil cleared by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics under pre import inspection.

"Further copies of the vessel ownership in KPA possessions do not indicate Anns Import and Export Limited Enterprise as the owner of the vessel. The copies circulating out there are false, we have all the original documents,” he said.

For all fuel imports in Kenya, Tayari said that KPA and all agencies involved are required to adhere to existing Government-to-Government arrangements.

This therefore means that KPA counterchecks manifest submitted to confirm that the shipper is duly appointed by the ministry of energy and petroleum and those consignees are licensed by energy and petroleum regulatory authority and nominated by appointed international oil marketer.

KPA managing director Captain William Ruto said that Njeri was not their client and has never visited KPA offices in Mombasa.

"The said woman has never visited KPA, we don’t know her and she has never lodged any complain with us. We only read about this issue on social media,” said Ruto.

He added that, “Some of the allegations being peddled cannot withstand anywhere. How can someone claims to be the owner of the vessel, yet she has no document to prove that, it is not adding up.”

The Chinese embassy in Nairobi, Kenya has announced the cancellation of visa appointments for Kenyans, effective November 20, 2023.

According to a statement from the embassy, the move aims at easing the process of acquiring visa for Kenyans seeking to travel to China.

Kenyans seeking a Chinese visa will now be required to submit their applications directly to the Visa application service centre in Nairobi.

https://ommydalla.co.ke/lifestyle/item/3316-my-first-visit-to-china

"In order to further facilitate the exchange of China and Kenya, the Chinese Embassy in Kenya will completely cancel visa appointments from November 20, 2023," read part of the statement.

The visa processing time limit and fees remains unchanged.

Kenya and China are marking six decades of formal diplomatic relations.

Last month President William Ruto visited China for a three day state visit where he attended the Belt and Roads summit and  held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The Refugees Consortium of Kenya (RCK), a non-governmental organization pushing for the rights of refugees has urged Kenyans to respect the rights of refugees being hosted in the country.

According to the organization, refuges living in Kenya continue to face discrimination and have for a very long time been mistaken for immigrants and illegal immigrants in Kenya.

RCK legal officer Cindy Adundo said that no one choses to leave their country to become a refugee in another country, and as such they should be treated with respect and dignity.

She was speaking in Mombasa during a training of trainers on protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms for refugees and host communities.

"Refuges are humans like any other person, none has chosen to leave their country and become a refugee here in Kenya. There are a number of things that has led to people leaving their countries to seek refuge elsewhere like war, hunger and drought, some are political refugees running from,” said Adundo.

She added that, “We receive these people are register theme here in Kenya and we live with them.

Statistics from the department of refugee services show that Kenya as at February 2023 is hosting 580,792 registered refugees and asylum-seekers.

A majority of the refugees and asylum-seekers live in camps, accounting for 84 per cent of them with 16 per cent living in urban areas.

The Kakuma camp with a population of 253,884 registered refugees accounts for 44 per cent of all refugees followed by Dadaab camp with a total of 234,706 (40%) with only 92,202 (16%) living in urban areas.

The report states that 88 percent are registered as refugees while 12 percent are asylum-seekers.

Somalia according to the report accounts for the majority of refugees and asylum-seekers with a total of 289,701 followed by South Sudan 155,852, Democratic republic of Congo 54,860 and Ethiopia 32,221.

Other countries include Burundi 26,667, Sudan 10,517, Uganda 3,835, Eritrea 2,682, Rwanda 2,482 and other countries accounting for 1,085.

Adundo said that as an organization dealing with refugees and host communities, they continue facing a lot of challenges including most Kenyans having not been sensitized about refugees.

She said that most people are not aware of the Refugee ACT 2021 which protects the rights of refugees registered in Kenya.

"We continue sensitizing people that this law is here and protects the rights of refugees. Many still don’t accept that they are humans like us, many presume them to be terrorists not knowing that these people are running away from war or something else,” she noted.

Adding“We need to continue sensitizing Kenyans that refugees are people like us, the only difference is that they are running away from war or other things in their countries. If the government has accepted them, let us embrace them."

She reiterated the need for Kenyans should read more about refugees and embrace them in our communities.

Adundo lauded the steps that the Kenyan government has done in ensuring that the rights of refugees in Kenya are protected and they feel safe to live in Kenya.

"They have been issued with identity cards and they are free to access government services like any other citizen in the country. If they want to register for Mpesa or open bank accounts, they are free to do so using their refugee document and all other documents listed,’ she said.

This she said is progressive for Kenya and refugees living in Kenya.

She however said that there was need to sensitize the police more on refugees.

RCK she said has been working closely with the department of refugee services and UNHCR to sensitise the police about the act.

"The police need to know that refugees have rights and duty to follow the law, those found contriving law can be arrested, but their rights must be respected,” Adundo said.

She added that they were also looking to engage other stakeholders including the media to sensitise them about refugees and their rights in Kenya.

The media, she said, has been misrepresenting facts on refugees for a while, and as such the need to do more sensitization on the media to avoid information distortion.

Greentech, and Africa's first electric vehicles manufacturer Agilitee's roll out in South Africa has finally reached four provinces out of the 9 provinces of the country with its Agilitee loadex scooters.

The continent's EV leader is expanding to the fifth province this week and intends to have its vehicles on the road in all provinces of South Africa by the end of December. 

The company that has been not supported much in its own country is seeing a big shift as it's vehicles demand has skyrocketed in the third quarter of 2023.

The demand has grown so much that this week it's also rolling out its vehicles in Kenya as one of its biggest clients ordered a batch for its stores. 

Agilitee became a public company last year and the founder has donated 100 million shares ever since.

Agilitee faced many challenges in South Africa and to see this amazing rollout brings hope to this fast rising company.

Dr Mandla Lamba CEO of Agilitee commented, 'We are excited about this rollout, we thank God that it is finally happening and to see it happen in our founding country is a result of God's grace. We are pushing hard and making sure we are in every province by December. We continue to sign partnerships that are helping us rollout faster, we are also starting the rollout in Kenya this week and Nigeria the first week of December."

Adding "We are doing all that we can to increase shareholder value and improve the lives of our people by contributing in the development of a carbon free society for all. For our clients, we are making sure that they do deliveries in a way that betters them and even their customers, with our battery swapping facilities our clients are saving a lot of money and time and also improving profitability and efficiency."

Youth from Mombasa county have been urged to honour the National Tree Growing Day, on Monday, through planting of trees in their respective sub counties.

According to Capital Youths caucus chairman Evans Momanyi, the day is very important towards achieving the agenda by the Kenya kwanza government of ensuring the wellbeing of the environment.

"This move by the government is welcomed. We need to plant more tress so as to preserve our environment. We have seen what luck of enough trees and lack of conservation of the environment has resulted to in another areas, we dont want to go there" said momanyi.

Adding " My humble appeal to fellow youths is please let us not use this day for other things that will not help us, let us support the government and come out to plant trees."

In a statement issued on Friday, Environment CS Soipan Tuya said at the County level, tree-growing activities will be championed by Cabinet Secretaries with each championing tree-growing activities in at least two counties.

In Mombasa, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen will lead the exercise in Mikindani, Jomvu.

The government intends to plant 500 million tree seedlings during the nationwide tree-planting exercise on Monday.

President William Ruto is set to lead the national tree planting ceremony at the Kiu Wetlands in Makueni County, with similar exercises planned across the country.

"There are 150 million platable seedlings at Kenya Forestry Research Institute and Kenya Forest Service nurseries across the country. County planting teams will avail these seedlings at designated county planting sites." said CS tUYA.

Adding " "If each of us plant at least two seedlings on Monday, we will instantly hit the campaign target for the day of 100 million seedlings."

Mohammed Jahazi, the first Mvita Mp and former assistant minister has died, his family has confirmed.

The veteran politician died on Sunday at the Mombasa hospital where he was receiving treatment.

Jahazi who untill his death was the Chairman Mombasa county council of elders was one of the close ally of former President Daniel Moi.

In one of his recent media interviews, Jahazi shared how he used to drive Moi around Mombasa town whenever he visited the town.

" He used to come down with president Jomo Kenyatta and he would stay at oceanic hotel. He used to call me there and since he was not a party animal he would ask me to show him around town." Jahazi told the Star newspaper.

Jahazi also shared how was arrested by the dreaded special branch unit for allegedly celebrating the attempted 1982 coup.

"I was detained at the Central Police Station for two days. I have never seen more scary people in my life than the people who were interrogating me. They (Special Branch) said they had information that I had been celebrating in the streets as early as 8am. But I only learnt of the attempted coup at 10am.”  Jahazi said.

Jahazi will be laid to rest on Sunday afternoon in Mombasa.

The local manufacturers showcase dubbed Changamka Festival organized by the Kenya Association of Manufacturer officially came to a close with a clarion call to Kenyans to continue supporting locally manufactured goods to promote growth in the sector.

The festival which registered great footfall saw shoppers seek products such as clothes, foodstuffs such as maize flour, wheat flour, and legumes, as well as pure honey, shoes, and machinery spare parts among others from Kenyan local manufacturers through the week in a bid to experience and promote quality.

The push for locally manufactured goods to be embraced by millions of Kenya has been one of the major pushes by the government through the Ministry of Trade under the Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative. The festival was aimed at wading off the analogy that locally manufactured products are expensive and of low quality.

The shopping festival saw high-ranking state officials from both the County Government of Nairobi and the National Government visit KICC to interact with both the local manufacturers and customers, giving prominence to the event and a clear indication of the government’s hand in pushing for the consumption of locally made products.

Dr. Juma Mukhwana, Permanent Secretary State Department for Industry called on Kenyans to normalize buying from local manufacturers as one of the ways of challenging them and propelling them to international markets.

“There is no doubt that local manufacturing plays a major role in the growth of this country economically. As a government, our focus on promoting sustainable policies to promote local manufacturing is clear. We will continue working with local manufacturing players to create a conducive business environment to increase the contribution to GDP by the manufacturing sector from the current 7.2% to 20% by 2030,” he said.

The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Co-operatives & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Simon Chelugui was among the high-ranking government officials who paid a visit to local manufacturers and businesses at the KICC.

“It is our desire and wish as a ministry to support these upcoming corporates, who are SMEs and the backbone of our economy. Many of them are adding value to many of our produce and it helps the economy down the value chain. Giving support through initiatives such as the Changamka Shopping Festival allows them to showcase what they have to offer to their customers,” said the CS.

The CSs visit came at a time when a conversation was ongoing on the worrying trend of small businesses shutting down en masse due to unfriendly taxes, the high cost of doing business, and the ever-reducing purchasing power of Kenyans. Stats from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that five years to 2016, at least 2.2 million SMEs had shut down, translating to 450,000 annually, 30,000 monthly, and 1,000 daily.

CS Chelugui attributed the massive shutdown of SMEs to the absence of policies that are tailored towards protecting SMEs and giving them a lifeline in terms of timely payments when they supply their goods and services.

The CS said the Ministry was working towards setting up a policy that will see suppliers from the SME sector paid promptly to shield them from collapsing due to delayed payment. He added that many small businesses are struggling to remain afloat due to delayed payment and promised that his ministry will ensure that this is changed.

Micro, and Small Enterprise Authority Chairman, Mr. James Mureu also highlighted the event and praised the government for initiatives such as the Hustler Fund for small businesses saying it has played a role in keeping thousands of them in business. “The SMEs in Kenya should remove the competition from among themselves and look at competing with other players such as the Chinese so that our local products can break even and feature in global markets,” he said.

Mr. Mureu added that the Authority was also working towards ensuring that all small businesses have specific zones with shades arranged according to the sector one has majored in to harmonize the sector and give it more prominence.

As the festival came to an end, the main highlight was the amplification of the fact that local manufacturing is the backbone of Kenya’s economy contributing about 7.8 percent to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP), as well as employing the highest number of wage earners, with 352,000 people.

It is on that premise that the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has been at the forefront of pushing for the consumption of locally manufactured goods and breaking the long-standing myth that local products are more expensive as compared to those that are imported. Through initiatives such as the Changamka Festival, KAM hopes to boost production among manufacturers and spur Kenya’s economic growth.

The festivalwhich went down at the Kenyatta International conference centre (KICC\) was sponsored by Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), KCB Group, NCBA Bank, GIZ – support on behalf of the Republic of Finland and the Federal Republic of Germany, Price Kata/Integral Media, Eco Bank, Nairobi City County, Smart Expo and Amonex Enterprises Limited.

Liz Wakesho is the new Miss County Kenya 2023.

Liz who also holds the title of Miss County Taita Taveta county was crowned on Friday during the Miss County Kenya national finals held in Mombasa.

The event was graced by Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha, Mombasa Women representative Zamzam Mohammed among other guests.

The 19-Year-Old Bachelor of information, security and forensic student at KCA walked away with a brand new car and ksh 120,000.

In her speech CS Nakhumicha encouraged the youth to work on their talents.

"The government is very keen in empowering our young people through monetizing the talents. I urge the participants to continue using their beauty and talent to impact the world positively by engaging in activities that will change the world, such as climate change activities and health and lifestyle awareness." said Nakhumicha.

Liz takes over from Prudence Tendwa from Trans Nzoia county.