East Africa's largest tourism trade fair, Karibu- Kilifair that alternatives between the Cities of Arusha and Moshi , Tanzania has been shelved.

In a statement the organisers indicated that owing to the global COVID-19 (coronavirus ) pandemic, the event that was slated for Arusha this year from 5th June -7th June, 2020 will now be held from Septermber 4th -6th, 2020.

''Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are currently suffering from the virus in hospitals as well as families who have already lost their beloved ones. The global impact can be seen in all kinds of economy sectors and also massively in the tourism industry. Nevertheless, we all have to continue to develop new strategies and ways to survive, while preparing ourselves for the time after Corona,'' the statement said.

It went on to add that the directors and the team of KILIFAIR Promotion are keenly monitoring all developments regarding the pandemic and impact for the tourism industry.

''Following economists’ and researchers’ forecasts, the situation shall be “under control” again after the next 2-3 months. This is the time when businesses will re-open their doors to serve customers and tourists who will slowly start to travel again – for this time we all need to be ready,'' the organisers stated.

Organisers further said that there will be enlarged and improved 35,000 square metres Fair layout for 500 plus exihibitors with Arusha being the venue

KILIFAIR and KARIBU Fair originally separate entities  joined into a single tourism and travel exhibition entity targeting to market the African tourism in Moshi town on the foot hills of Mount Kilimanjaro and Arusha city, Tanzania’s leading safari capital.

The two travel trade show organizers are pulling in  more partners and key players in the tourism industry across East Africa and the entire African continent.

Through a partnership with other regional tourist and travel trade exhibition organizers, KILIFAIR team has been participating in major fairs including the Magical Kenya, Pearl of Africa in Uganda, World Travel Market London and WTM Africa in Cape Town, also the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany.

Key decision makers in 26 nations including Kenya and five continents have launched a new tourism initiative called Project Hope Travel.

Hashtag #projecthopetravel has been established to share ideas, initiatives for tomorrow’s tourism.

Kenya's Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Mr Najib Balala is among the brains behind the formation.

The initiative is a public-private partnership to prepare for a new reality of the travel and tourism industry after COVID-19.

“There is a lot of love, passion and hope for tourism. Tourism the way we know it will be history, but if we play our cards well, it will emerge even better and more beautiful”, said Juergen Steinmetz, CEO of the Travel News Group.

Steinmetz is also a founding member of this group.

Now is the time for everyone in this industry to take a seat on a virtual table and share ideas, projects and initiatives. Tourism is an industry of peace, and the chance for tourism to show this has never been better.

Apart from Balala,other founders of the initiative include Louis D’Amore, founder of the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism, Deepak Joshi, former CEO Nepal Tourism Board, Pascal Viroleau, CEO of the Vanilla Island Tourism Organization, Ambassador Dho Young-shim from South Korea, Tourism  minister Edmund Bartlett from Jamaica.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of WTTC  said that travel and tourism Tourism is a critical sector to the global economy, accounting for one in four of all new jobs worldwide and contributing 10.3% to GDP.

''Our sector touches everyone. It builds communities, reduces poverty in the world and improves the social impact of everyday lives. Yet we are uniquely exposed at this time due to Covid-19,'' she said.

Project Hope Travel was an initiative that emerged at a board meeting by the COVID-19 task force meeting of the  African Tourism Board last month.

Alain St.Ange, President of the African Tourism Board said that  Hope for Africa and for the World at large is today so needed.

''But just hoping will not make a difference by itself. This is why I am thankful that a group of dedicated tourism professionals has joined together to not only initiate Project Hope Travel, but to also make time to steer it for the benefit of everyone in the world,'' St Ange said.

Taleb Rifai, former UNWTO Secretary General said that the transformative power of travel and tourism, when well managed and utilized, is a cornerstone in establishing world peace and in turn a better world, for people and planet.

''Protecting our cultural and natural heritage, Empowering local communities. Breaking down stereotypes enabling us to experience, enjoy and celebrate the beauty of our rich cultural diversity. These are indeed some of tourism’s contributions to making the world a better place to live.

Cuthbert Ncube, Chairman African Tourism Board said: “As Africa is speaking with a united voice in curbing the scourge of the pandemic, this is an encouraging endeavor in a crisis that has driven the west and the east to shift their priorities. Together we will succeed and become stronger. Project Hope Travel is Africa’s contribution to the world of tourism.”

Doctors and nurses at Mbagathi Hospital ,Nairobi who are in the frontline fighting the novel Covid -19 pandemic were served lunch courtesy of Hillpark Hotel, Nairobi.

Close to 80 members of staff who work at the facility that was among the first to admit Covid-19 positive patients in the country benefited from the gesture.

''We wish to offer our support to these gallant men and women who have put their lives at risk as they go about their daily work in ensuring that all those who are admitted at the facility get the best treatment there is ,'' Hillpark Hotel General Manager, Mr Joseph Ndunda said.

On hand to receive the food donation was the chairman of the Mbagathi Hospital Management Board, Mr Frederick George Osewe who thanked Hillpark Hotel for the gesture.

''We salute the entire management of Hillpark Hotel for this very timely gesture. Thank you for remembering us here. We have stayed committed to our cause all since through this pandemic hit our beautiful motherland.We hope other many more stakeholders will follow suit and offer any possible help to boost staff morale,'' Osewe said.

Ndunda said that his hotel is one of those designated by the Ministry of Health  as a quarantine facility  and hosted its first batch of those who returned from abroad from March 23rd to April 7th,2020. All those who stayed with us turned negative including staff members.

The GM said that Hillpark Hotel management did a lockdown of its premises from March 20th, 2020  and had all its staff who were offering services to guests brought in as part of government quarantine accomodated inside the hotel.

''Our staff members are now well versed with the Ministry of Health standard guidelines in the control of Covid-19,'' he said.

Kenyan Afro-soul queen announces 30^th May 2020 as the release date for her debut album – Kuwe. 

Zulu for “For You”, Kuwe is a gift offering from the Serro to her fans.

The songstress who has been consistently churning out heartfelt singles for the past 5 years, made the announcement on her socials while revealing the Vogue-Esque album’s cover art.  

Speaking on the milestone Serro says, “I honestly can't believe that I’m even announcing this; a labour of love for the last 3 years and I'll finally be sharing it with the world. “ 

In the following weeks, SERRO promises to share the album’s tracklist, inspiration behind each song, the production team and a pre-release performance event to be live-streamed via her socials. The album will be available for Pre-order on Spotify, iTunes/Apple Music, and Boomplay from 16^th May 2020.

About SERRO 

SERRO has built a name for herself continuously as one of Kenya’s top live performers since her days in Sauti Academy. SERRO tells the African story through her trademark Benga and Jazz meshed Afro-soul sounds laced with traditional Kenyan folk instrumentation. She recently caught Kenyans’ attention when her single “Kasyoki Wa Mitumba” went viral.

Afro-dancehall star Stonebwoy has dropped his expansive fourth studio album – ‘Anloga Junction’ out 24th April.

The album drop coincides with the official video release of lead single “Nominate”, featuring Grammy-winning R&B icon Keri Hilson. 

Directed by Denzel Williams and styled exclusively by Tommy Hillfiger in the TommyxLewis collection, the video is set in LA with Stonebwoy and Keri playing the roles of casting directors for a beauty pageant.

NOMINATE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZodeLKQh-U

Stream album here: https://kv-online-talent.lnk.to/AJ20

Download the lead singles: "Black Madonna" feat. Diamond, "Nominate" feat. Keri Hilson & "Bow Down" feat. Nasty C here: https://we.tl/t-WeQ5JFXb4Z

Speaking on the collaboration, Keri explains, “I love the song we’ve done. I’ve always wanted to feel like this! Working with Stone was also a really nice surprise. It was random how we met & I think the best music is made like this.”

The song follows on from the single releases of “African Party”, “Understand” featuring Alicai Harley and “Good Morning” featuring Chivv & Spanker, all of which are featured on ‘Anloga Junction’.

The album itself is an extensive 15-track release that features an array of collaborations with artists such as Hilson, Harley, Kojo Antwi, Nasty C, Zlatan, Diamond Platnumz and Jahmiel. 

Discussing the concept behind the album, Stonebwoy says, “Where do we acknowledge our true roots and embrace our differences in the diaspora?...Why Anloga Junction? Because creativity has taken a spiritual cause on my journey to get to this present day... Anloga (Alakple, Volta, Ghana) is where this journey really started…”

Hailing from Accra, Ghana, Stonebwoy rose to international stardom after winning the BET Award for ‘Best International Act’ in 2015. Also receiving nominations from MTV, EMA and the Grammys, he has since collaborated with a slew of international stars, including Sean Paul, Trey Songz, Burna Boy, Kranium, Chris Martin, Samini, Patoranking, Obrafour and R2Bees.

 ‘Anloga Junction’ marks the next chapter in the story of Stonebwoy—One of West Africa’s most celebrated talents.

Bongo Flava star Alikiba has pledged to donate 200 personal protective equipments (PPE) to the frontline healthcare workers across Tanzania.

According to the 'Dodo' hitmaker this will go along way in supporting the Tanzanian government in it's fight against the deadly coronavirus.

Speaking to a local radio station in Daresalaam (Clouds fm), Alikiba revealed that  he will be partnering with Tanzanian international footballer Mbwana Samata through the SAMAKIBA Foundation in complementing government's effort in fighting the disease through different ways.

Alikiba has been on the forefront in educating and sensitizaling Tanzanians against the disease.

This comes just few weeks after Diamond Platnumz announced that he will pay three months house rent for 500 vulnerable households as a helpful gesture for those struggling to make ends meet during the health crisis.

Diamond also noted  that he was ready to offer his newly acquired hotel in Daresalaam to the government to be converted to a hospital and isolation centre for coronavirus patients and contacts.

Kasha, an East African E-commerce platform for women’s health, personal care, and beauty products is taking great steps to combat the spread of Coronavirus in Kenya and Rwanda where it operates.

Kasha’s platform is available online and offline to ensure the company serves women of all socio-economic backgrounds.

For Kasha, as a social enterprise, Purpose driven collaboration is key in this period to ensure they get essential products and information to the most at risk communities in the safest way possible.

They will provide basic hygiene kits that families need at this time. Customers can choose to donate an essential kit to a family they know is in need and Kasha will make the delivery on their behalf or customers can choose to donate to a low income family that Kasha has identified through the Kasha Agent network.

The essential kits include soaps, hand sanitizers, sanitary pads, face masks and other essential items.

Kasha will also extend this distribution outside Nairobi to Siaya County (Bondo) where it currently has a network of 98 agents that deliver Kasha orders to the last mile.

“At Kasha, we strongly believe we have a role to play in helping people around the country protect themselves from COVID-19. We are focused on ensuring that people in urban and rural areas get access to quality health and personal care products.” - Joanna Bichsel, Founder and CEO at Kasha.

Here are the Steps Kasha has taken to support the fight against COVID-19:

1. We are continuing to deliver orders across the country through our website at kasha.co.ke/ and through our USSD platform *308#, so that customers can stay safe at home and still get the essential products they need.

2. We are ensuring our fulfillment and delivery teams are wearing masks, gloves and are trained to protect themselves and our customers. Work stations and warehouse are also disinfected several times a day

3. In order to practice social distancing and take safety measures, Kasha accepts digital payments only. Payments can be made on delivery via mobile money with M-pesa or through card payments on the website.

4. Kasha has launched a nurse-supported community forum, www.kashacommunity.com, to provide information on contraceptives. During this time of social distancing and with the difficulty of accessing clinics, we want to ensure women have access to information so that they can continue to make informed decisions with regards to their sexual and reproductive health.

5. Kasha is supporting the welfare of its employees by asking employees to work from home and providing necessary support and information to adapt to the new ways of working.

6. Kasha is also giving away free sanitizers with every order purchased through its website and USSD platforms.

About Kasha.

Kasha Technologies Ltd is a company headquartered in Kenya with a purpose-driven business ensuring women of all socio-economic levels have access to the health and personal care products they need.

Kasha leverages a digital commerce platform so that customers can access genuine quality, affordable products for their health and get them delivered discreetly, in urban and rural areas.

Kasha has built a highly accessible ecommerce platform to support consumer demand driven access either online through www.kasha.co.ke or through a basic mobile phone by dialing *308#. Kasha employs Kasha Agents in low income rural communities, who deliver customer orders to the last mile and who serve as the face of Kasha in their communities. It also works with corporates and institutions such as schools, serving as a channel by which these organizations can distribute health-focused products direct-to-consumer, and leverage Kasha’s health information sessions to be delivered to low income students and vulnerable individuals. Kasha Global began in Rwanda in 2016 and now operates across Rwanda and Kenya.

Cases of journalists attack in the country have been on the rise with 22 cases being reported between March and April 2020.

According to Article 19 Eastern Africa, Nairobi and Mombasa are currently the main hot spots with Nairobi recording 13 cases and Mombasa 6. 

Turkana has so far witnessed 4 cases with other counties recording between 3 and 1 cases each.

''These attacks were carried out by security agents, government officials, and organised mobs - including primary school pupils in a manner that clearly demonstrates a sustained effort to stifle and control the press, and limit the free flow of information in 22 Counties'' reads a statement from Article 19 Regional Director Mugambi Kiai.

In the statement, Kiai also noted that the number of attacks on journalists rose from 53 between May 2019 and April 2020 to 59 cases of attacks, harassment, intimidation.

Kiai charged ''Attacks on journalists increased significantly in the first quarter of 2020 with recorded cases reaching 36, this was at the height of Coronavirus pandemic across the country''. 

Kiai also named the coronavirus health crisis, corruption and the 2022 succession politics as the most sensitive stories for journalists to cover in 2020 in Kenya. 

He further called on the government to uphold freedom of the media and to end attacks on journalists carrying out their work noting that most cases of attacks are rarely investigated.

The revelations come as journalists around the globe mark the World Press Freedom Day under the theme of Journalism Without Fear and Favour.

Mombasa County Senator Mohammed Faki and Nyali Mp Mohammed Ali have differed with the county governor Hassan Joho on his approach on the issue of mass testing for coronavirus in the county.

Yesterday, a furious Joho threatened to lock down residents of Old Town after they failed to show up for the exercise. Old town is one of the hardest hit areas in Mombasa county.

Joho accused the residents of also ignoring other guidelines set by the government through ministry of health including social distancing, avoiding places of worship (mosques) and staying at home.

https://ommydalla.co.ke/people/item/1514-joho-breathes-fire-over-old-town

On his part Senator Mohammed Faki called on the county government to first address the issue of stigmatisation before subjecting the residents to mandatory mass testing.

''Before we subject the people to the testing we should deal with the problem of Stigma associated with the disease. There is alot of Stigma and many people would rather not take the test than Volunteer and allow your family to suffer'' said Faki.

Adding ''As matter stand now, immediately you test positive you will have to be isolated and your family quarantined and all your contacts are supposed to be quarantined. The cost involved is also prohibitive considering the hard economic times courtesy of the Pandemic''.

In a statement Faki challenged the county government to come up with a counseling program to assure the residents that the virus is not a death sentence.

''So we need to relook the issue of Mass Testing so that we can be able to get as many people to go out and be tested as possible. We need first to have a Counselling Program before you take the test. The Counselling will assure the person that being infected with Corona is not a death Sentence and 98% of the people of get infected and develop symptoms of the disease get cured'' he charged.

The statement further reads ''The Counselling should assure that if there is any quarantine or isolation it could be done at your own home to avoid unnecessary costs or at a Quarantine facility but costs will be borne by the County Government. Finally the test is safe because there is alot of information out there saying that some of the testing kits are not safe''

Nyali Mp Mohammed Ali has also come out to differ with the county chief on the issue calling on him to stop forcing the residents on mass testing

'' We are politicians and when it comes to the health of our people we need to put politics aside, let's leave the issue to professionals. Let's stop threatening the people with this issue mass testing, it is a good idea but we should not force the people'' said Ali.

Ali explained that a number of residents in the county had shunned the exercise because they were threatened that if they turned out positive, they would have to foot their own bills.

"People fear to partake in the test because they will be told to foot the bills once they test positive. Who do you think will turn up for the test if they have to foot the bill on their own?" he posed.

Last night, the department of health announced that has struck an agreement with the Kenya Medical Training College at Port Reitz and Mombasa Campus to release 38 people who were quarantined at the institutions.

According to  the county health executive Health Hazel Koitaba, this is in line with the County’s resolve to come to the rescue of those who are unable to pay the quarantine fees of 2,000 shillings per day to the institutions.

Twenty were due for discharge today at Port Reitz and 18 at Mombasa Campus.