Dubai-based independent hotel management company Aleph Hospitality has opened the Best Western Plus Westlands hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.

The new opening, which introduces the Best Western Plus brand to one of the city’s most sought-after commercial districts, marks Aleph Hospitality’s continued expansion in Kenya, where the company has already signed management contracts for three hotels currently under development: the Protea Hotel by Marriott in Kisumu; an airport hotel in Nairobi and a property in the popular coastal resort of Mombasa.

Bani Haddad, Managing Director, Aleph Hospitality, said: “The opening of Best Western Plus Westlands signals our commitment to Kenya, the third-largest tourism economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Kenya is a popular destination in the heart of the region and its travel and tourism industry grew 5.6% in 2018, exceeding global and regional levels, according to the WTTC" Said Added

Adding "We are proud to be part of this growth and to support the economy with more than 80 new jobs and the generation of additional international visitors that Best Western Plus Westlands will bring,” said Haddad.

The hotel’s owner, Amit Lukka, commented: “We are thrilled to find a partner in Aleph Hospitality that supports both our vision for Nairobi’s hospitality sector and our country’s wider efforts to market Kenya as a destination of choice.

“Aleph Hospitality is a trusted and accomplished partner that will manage the hotel on our behalf, driving maximum return on our investment as well as delivering a superior guest experience in collaboration with the prestigious global chain, Best Western.” added Lukka.

Best Western Plus Westlands is located in the heart of Nairobi’s social and entertainment hub, the vibrant Westlands district, home to shops, restaurants and numerous corporate headquarters, making it a popular destination for Kenyans, expatriates and visitors.

Nairobi’s top attractions including the neighbouring Sarit Expo Centre, Nairobi National Park, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Kenyatta International Conference Centre are also within close reach, making the hotel ideally positioned for both business and leisure travel.

The new, purpose-built hotel features 101 stylish, air-conditioned guest rooms, including spacious Junior Suites with separate living rooms and kitchenettes and a luxurious Penthouse Suite with a private outdoor hot tub.

Best Western Plus Westlands offers free WiFi, a dedicated meetings floor, a gym and two food and beverage outlets – Craft, an all-day-dining restaurant, bar and coffee shop, and Asiatic, a stylish rooftop bar and lounge.

Suzi Yoder, Senior Vice President, International Operations, BWH Hotel Group, said: “We are truly delighted with the addition of the Best Western Plus Westlands, a beautiful new build hotel created with our guests’ needs in mind.

The central location is superb for both our corporate clients and leisure travellers and we are proud to now welcome our first guests.”

Aleph Hospitality, which has earmarked a pipeline of 35 hotels in the Middle East and Africa by 2025, manages hotels directly for owners, either on a franchise basis for branded properties or as a white label operator for independently-branded hotels.

The company operates four hotels in Africa, with six new openings already slated for 2020.

BBC Journalist Peter Mwangangi has decided to unleash his other talent, Music.

The soft spoken journalist has team up with Kenyan olympic swimmer turned rapper  Jason Dunford 'Samaki mkuu' to record a love song titled 'Tabasamu'.

The song which was originally done Mombasa music producer TK2 but re-done by Dominic Khaemba of Ageless Music is set for release this coming Wednesday.

Mwangangi mostly reffered to as 'PM' by his peers hosts two programmes on BBC Swahili, Mitikasi leo and Biashara Bomba.

Mvita Young Stars registered their first 2-1 victory during the second edition of the Machele super cup football tournament played at the famous Tononoka playing ground.

A total of 24 teams from Mvita constituency divided into four pools will take part during this year’s holiday festivities.

The annual football tournament is the courtesy of Machele Foundation patron Mohamed soud and the winners will pocket Sh 100,000 while the runners up will take Sh 50,000.

The opening ceremony of the first match was graced by the sponsor accompanied by Mombasa member of county assembly [MCA] for Ganjoni/Shimanzi Ward Priscilla Mumba and her Majengo/King’orani counterpart Ahmed Nyundo.

Each team taking part during this year’s tournament will be given a kitty with one football.

During the opening match the Mvita Young Stars scored two goals through Abubakari Mohhamed who shook the net before breather time

In the second half Shimanzi Youth came back forcefully missing chances but got a consolation goal through hard fighter Lawrence Mark.

The custodians of both teams were called to save several shots before the final whistle.

The sponsor of the tournament which is organized by the FKF Mombasa sub branch, Mohamed Soud, said he wants to ensure he keeps the youths busy during the long holidays instead of being idle.

He said his agenda is to ensure youths desist from engaging in immoral activities and shun drugs and sub

A half naked Woman caused a scene last night at the ongoing Lamu cultural festival as Bongo star Mbosso was on stage.

The Woman attracted attention after she started screaming while forcing her way to the stage all in a bid to dance with her favourite artist Mbosso.

The show had to be stopped for some minutes before Mbosso intervened calling on the bodyguards and security personnel manning the stage to allow her to the stage, he however gave her instructions that he was only going to take pictures with her but no dancing.

"As you are aware Lamu has its own culture and values, it is not allowed for me to dance with you when dressed like that, i will be going against the values of the people of Lamu and this festival' said Mbosso.

The show finally resumed after the Woman left the stage, Mbosso thrilled his fans with most of his hits like 'Shillingi', 'Hodari', 'Nadekezwa'.

"This is my first time in Lamu and i really appreciate for your support and the love you have showed me. I promise to be back here next year with Diamond Platnumz" said Mbosso after finishing his performance amid cheers from the revellers

In an interview with Journalists the Woman who refused to disclose her name said all she wanted was getting close to Mbosso and at least dance with him.

"I'm grateful that i managed to get so close to him and took pictures together. I had prepared myself very well to shake my waist for him. All in all i have achieved one of my dreams which was to take a picture with my favourite artist Mbosso, i love him so much" said the Woman.

The festival which started on Thursday last week will end Tomorrow (Monday).

The 5th edition of the Jamhuri festival and expo is set for December 18 to 20 at the Wild waters in Mombasa.

This will be the first time that the event is taking place in Mombasa.

The event which has so far been held in 4 major cities in the country namely Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nakuru seeks to bridge the gap between potential clients and businesses and also bring together families during this festive season.

"December is a season for festivities and we believe that wild waters will be the perfect place to experience maximul fun" said the expo CEO Paul Omena.

The activities expected at the expo includes business and food expo and all inclusive entertainment (Kids Amusements, Music, Culture).

The 5th edition of the Pwani International fashion week and awards (PIFWA) went down last evening at the Epic business centre in Nyali.

Models took to the runway to showcase beautiful designs from local designers with awards being awarded to the best fashion designer, make up artist, stylist of the year and also photographer of the year.

Hellen Mwanzia won the model of the year award, Charity Sonje took home the make up artist of the year award, Joel Njata winning the stylist of the year award while Royal arts photography won the photographer of the year award.

The event was graced by Papa Shirandula's actress Jacky Vike and the Mombasa County tourism department chief officer Jaffar Suleiman.

In his speech Mr Suleiman assured the organisers and fashion industry stakeholders in the county of continued support.

"Since 2016 the Department of Tourism has partnered with pwani international fashion week to promote fashion tourism as one of the key element in promoting Mombasa as a destination. Other elements being Leisure, Business, Sports tourism, Spiritual Tourism and more recently Medical Tourism" said Suleiman

Adding" As a Government we stand Committed firm and true believing that without identity a people is lost and their sense of belonging diminished. So as much as we have been supportive of all initiatives we ask for harmony and enhancements of our roots as we move forward in our endeavor to create a true Identity for Mombasa".

Below are some photos from the event.

Tanasha Donna has postponed the listening party for her new EP 'DONNATELA'.

The party was set for today but it has now been postponed to a later date next month (January 2020), this is after her boyfriend Diamond Platnumz requested to be present at the party.

According to the organisers, Diamond made the request 'last minute'. He was not to attend the party due to his busy schedule, according to initial plans.

'We have pushed the event to January 2020 to accommodate Diamond Platnumz as he wants to be a part of it.Also for logistical issue' reads a statement from the organiners.

Tension is high at the Standard media group as the company prepares to send home some of it's correspondents.

According to a highly placed source, some of the correspondents have already been served with letters to explain why they should not be sacked.

Among the regions affected is the Coast region, three correspondents from the region have already been served with show cause letters and another receiving a termination letter.

Two of the show cause letters have been served to correspondents based at the Mombasa bureau, a photographer and a writer, another correspondent has been sacked while the third show cause letter sent to a correspondent outside Mombasa but within the region (Coast).

This comes just a month after the media house owned by former President Daniel Moi's family issued a profit warning cautioning investors that profitability will fall significantly.

In the warning which is usually issued by listed companies in order to disclose in advance a fall of at least 25% in profitability,

SMG  projected that the profit for the year ended 31^st December 2019 will be at least 25% lower than the performance of the year ended 31^st December 2018 due to shrink in earnings,increased costs and drop in advertising.

Standard media group is the second largest media house in Kenya, it recently introduced two new radio stations spice fm and Vybz radio.

In October this year, Media max limited also sent home over 100 journalists including editors.

Another media house said to be in the process sending home some of it's journalists is the Radio Africa group.

Just last month Radio African Group CEO Patrick Quarcoo announced that the company was finding it hard to meet its financial obligations with shrinking revenues and would therefore offload some employees to stay afloat, issuing a one-month redundancy notice.

Jamaican artist Chris Martin and the orgainsers of the Big Deal concert Umoja Splash festival have come out to apologize to revellers who were mugged and allegedly assaulted during the concert which went down in Impala grounds last weekend.

Through a series of tweets, Chris Martin admitted that their were some security lapses during the event but promised to return to Nairobi and make it up to fans.

“Now, I see a few reports about my concert in Nairobi this past weekend and how my performance was marred by muggers and the lack of proper security. Whilst performing I did see a few scuffles that threw me off but I didn’t know the magnitude of what was happening,” he posted

Adding" “I’d like to extend my sincerest apologies to those affected by those criminals who targeted my awesome supporters who braved the inclement weather to come, enjoy and sing some #SweetSugahReggae wid mi! Mi vex yf. Anyway...Nairobi you were the best despite it all and I had the time of my existence!!!! I will definitely be returning soon and we’re gonna have an even better time...unuh ready!?? Wait til mi comeback Love you all ".

On their part the organisers say they have now put into place to ensure such incidents do not happen again in the future calling on the county and national government especially the police to support them and also offer event friendly venues.

Below is a statement from the organisers.

As Steppin’ Razor and Ngoma Tucheze we endeavor to give our fans the best live music experience at every concert we have.

Following a phenomenal reggae show in July we followed up with a reggae event featuring not only the main act but two of Jamaica’s biggest stars to give our fans the ultimate experience. 

The presidential summit at our initial venue coupled with the large numbers that bought in early necessitated a last minute venue change. With the only option being a venue with known security challenges we put in the necessary controls but ultimately with the incoming storm and fans eager to attend it led to a rush at the gate. 

Umoja Splash Festival is a brand that continues to bring to Kenya the ultimate reggae and dancehall acts and we hope that our USF family will continue to support us.  

To counter such occurrences in the future we have put together our own standardized operational protocol to ensure that the client experience is as enjoyable as possible. 

We will also look into venue options as in Nairobi we currently have only two secure and controlled venues with the rest needing massive reinforcements. 

We have great respect for the fans who have supported our shows and we apologize for the lapses in controls and security. We guarantee a safer experience at the next event based on lessons from this event.  

We also request support from the county and national government with additional event friendly venues as well as police support through subsidized police teams trained for crowd and event management, specifically targeting  the youth who are the majority who attend the event. 

 Finally we thank everyone who supported the event in any way as well as all those who attended. The exhilarating show and massive turn out truly showed that #NobodyCanStopReggae. 

Diamond Platnumz's Kenyan girlfriend Tanasha Donna is set to host a listening party for new EP titled 'DONNATELLA' in Nairobi tomorow.

The event is expected to take place at Nyama Mama where she will also be announcing the lucky winners of her challenge for the trip for 2 to Mombasa.

It is still not yet clear if Diamond Platnumz will be present to support her.

Just few backsm Tanasha set the internet on fire after she posted a picture of her and her adorable new born baby in studio making studio.

She has managed to release songs like 'Nah Easy'which was released six months ago and currently enjoys over 600k views on you tube, she also released 'Radio ' featuring Barak Jacuzzi.