President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed politicians who've been saying that Jubilee Party was no longer a major political player in the country saying the ruling party has been busy at work implementing its pre-election pledges.

“But the reality of the matter is this: Jubilee is not only alive; it is alive and it is well,” President Kenyatta, who is the Jubilee Party Leader, said.

The President spoke on Saturday at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi County where he presided over the party's National Delegates Conference (NDC).

Contrary to the narrative perpetuated by its opposers, the President said the Jubilee Party administration had registered tremendous successes during its tenure key among them the doubling of Kenya's GDP from Shs 5 trillion to Shs 11 trillion.

The President termed politicians who chose to abandon Jubilee Party as untruthful and bitter self-seekers who unsuccessfully attempted to sabotage the ruling party from within.

“There are those who said they pulled out of the party because it was dead. When they could not explain why the work of nation-building by the ruling party was going on even after their departure, they started saying they were removed from the party which is not true,” President Kenyatta said.

He said political leaders who abdicated their responsibilities in Government and the ruling party to engage in early political campaigns were largely motivated by unmitigated personal ambition.

“There is nothing wrong with ambition but ambition must be controlled. Uncontrolled ambition is like an unguided missile that can cause harm and untold destruction,” the President said.

On his 'handshake' with ODM leader Raila Odinga, the President said the closing of political ranks was aimed at restoring peace during the difficult post-election period when a section of the country was considering secession.

Citing the example of the 2013 grand coalition government that was led by retired President Mwai Kibaki and Mr Odinga, the President wondered why some politicians were bitterly opposed to the 'handshake'.

“The main objective of our ‘handshake’ with Baba (Mr Odinga) was peace. We agreed that we needed to have a constitutional order that ensures that our country remains not just united but peaceful and that people can engage freely in competitive politics,” he said.

Once again, the President refuted political claims that opposition leaders led by Mr Odinga had joined the Government through the handshake thereby disrupting the country's development agenda.

“I heard some people say that they have not seen a country like Kenya where the Government and the opposition are working together, my answer to them is that they see it in Kenya because they need to be mature enough to distinguish between politics and the needs of our people,” President Kenyatta said.

Several political party leaders who spoke at the NDC applauded President Kenyatta for his impressive development record and visionary leadership saying he ensured that Kenya remains peaceful, stable and progressive.

ODM leader Raila Odinga said the 'handshake' helped to diffuse the political tension that had threatened to tear Kenya apart following the disputed presidential results of 2017 general election.

"You know the country was going down the drain and you heard us calling for a boycott of some particular products," the ODM leader said while giving a blow-by-blow account of the events leading up to the 'handshake'.

Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka said the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) had resolved to join hands with Mr Odinga and President Kenyatta in 'Azimio La Umoja' political formation saying discussions were underway to settle on a single presidential candidate for the August polls.

"We are committed to ensuring one nation and one people. We have began structured talks to build a strong nation. This is not the time for name-calling, it is a time to build a proud nation among the community of nations," Mr Musyoka said.

During the NDC, Jubilee Party members endorsed several changes in the party's structure including new leaders and party symbols.

In the changes, founding Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju stepped down from the position and was replaced by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni.

SAVARA releases his much anticipated debut album, ‘Savage Level’ - following the releases of singles: Balance and Killem Everyday.

The 14-track body of work, which was all produced by Savara, cuts across themes including love, awakening, consciousness, anxiety, growth, and excellence at all costs with features from Karun on Vibration and Nyashinski on More Than a Friend.

Sababisha tells a story of his relationship with his mother and how she raised him, giving a glimpse into his childhood in Eastlands; while Anxiety addresses the issue of mental health and its relation to men.

SABABISHA VIDEO HERE

On the philosophy that forms the foundation of his brand and represents his personal journey and life story, Savara says,  “Savage Level is a mentality; your mindset has the power to shape your reality. Savage Level is a mantra, a movement, and a way of life. We all can unlock the best versions of ourselves.”

‘Savage Level’ is a global sound and a tribe with various layers to it. It’s Afro-Confusion - different sonic levels packaged in a beautiful rhythmic way.

Known as The Vibe Curator, Savara has left an imprint of who he is in every song on the album, documenting how his style continues to evolve.

The Kick Martial Arts Club (KMAC) of Ukunda is organizing a Half Marathon dubbed “the Kick out Unfitness” Half Marathon slated for Saturday, 26 February 2022.

The goal is to support and advocate for the participation of local youth in sports ensuring the long-term health and fitness of the youth as well as providing positive activities for them to engage in.

"As sponsors of this event, we at Skyward Express are more than happy to take part in this Marathon. This is because we believe that the future is youth and we would like to nurture and support talent in all our key destinations. " reads a statement from Skyward Express, the sponsors.

Adding "We have seen tremendous growth in terms of passenger number in Diani since we started operations in 2018 with the good will from the people of Kwale County. As such, we would like to give back to the people of Kwale County through such CSR activities. It is our hope and belief that this Half Marathon achieves its objectives and grows over the years."

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has advocated for increased investment in Africa's reproductive, maternal, adolescent and child health systems noting that private-public partnerships were a viable option for raising resources to support the sector.

The First Lady rallied global financiers to back Africa's weak maternal and child health systems which she said were overstretched by societal challenges such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Gender Based Violence (GBV), teenage pregnancies and early marriages.

"Through private-public partnerships and collective investments, we are urged to deepen our work around reproductive maternal, adolescent and child health," the First Lady said.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta spoke through a recorded video message on Thursday at the 7th Africa Health Business Symposium held at a Nairobi hotel.

At the event, also addressed by Health PS Susan Mochache, the First Lady said Africa was capable of ending its high maternal and child mortality if the sector is adequately resourced.

“We must be steeled by the possibility that we can achieve zero maternal and child deaths by devoting necessary expertise and resources,” she said.

Using the example of her Beyond Zero initiative, the First Lady said the organization leverages on partnerships to deliver transformative health interventions.

“This symposium also highlights the growing importance of collaboration and partnerships. The model of my Beyond Zero Initiative is built on this same idea. It has been the defining principle, and contributor to the success of our work," she said.

Through partnerships and fundraising platforms such as the Beyond Zero marathon, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta said her organization was able to pool adequate resources for the supply of mobile medical clinics to all of Kenya's 47 counties.

In addition to the mobile clinics, the First Lady said Beyond Zero had rolled out the medical safari initiative so as to enhance access to health services by vulnerable communities in support of Kenya's universal health coverage agenda.

“More recently, we have expanded our focus to respond to unmet health needs through the Beyond Zero Medical Safaris. This program has contributed to strengthening our national resolve towards universal healthcare by enhancing the capacity of our health systems,” the First Lady said.

On Africa's rising cancer disease burden, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta called for increased screening of cervical and breast cancers saying the two variants had the highest mortality rates on the continent.

“As we celebrate our work, we are, however, reminded that more needs to be done; especially around screening and detection of cancers, specifically cervical and breast cancers. These remain a growing concern with high mortality rates in our region,” she said.

The First Lady also spoke about Covid-19 saying the pandemic had overstretched Africa's health infrastructure and called for the strengthening of the continent's fragile health systems.

“This forum convenes at a time when we face the risk of reversing our hard-won gains against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has tried and tested our health systems and further demonstrated the urgency of ensuring health and economic equity, especially for our women. The pandemic has called for innovative approaches to build resilient health systems,” she said.

In her remarks, Health PS Susan Mochache, who represented CS Mutahi Kagwe, congratulated the First Lady for her total devotion to the wellbeing and health of Kenyan women, girls and children.

She reiterated the First Lady's call for health stakeholders to forge strong partnerships so as to be able to raise adequate resources for investment in maternal health.

The continental meeting was attended by health ministers from Nigeria, Uganda, and Somalia as well as representatives of various international organizations among them WHO's Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti.

Kenyan artists now have all the reasons to smile after members of Parliament on Wednesday passed the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

This means artiste will now get the lion's share of revenue generated from their ring-back tones.

The Bill sponsored by Homa Bay Woman Rep Gladys Wanga provides that the artiste get 52 per cent of revenue generated from their ring-back tones.

This means that for Sh1.50 payment per day for Skiza tune, the artists will pocket Sh0.92 being a sum of Sh0.78 being 52 per cent artist share and Sh0.14 being 9 per cent of the exercise benefit to the artist.

Telecommunication companies and KRA will each pocket 16% of the Skiza revenue while PRSPs will pocket 9% of the revenue.

currently, artistes receive only 16 per cent of the revenue generated from their Skiza tune. 25 per cent goes go to KRA and 51 per cent retained by the telecommunication company.

The bill is now waiting to be signed into law by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Suna East MP Junet Mohamed has broken his silence over the Sunday scuffle between him and Nassir at the Tononoka grounds during the Azimio La Umoja Party.

Mohamed says there is no bad blood between him and Nassir despite a section of political leaders from Mombasa expressing displeasure with the conduct of Junet Mohamed.

“Abdulswamand Nassir and I are deeply cordial, ignore desperate rumours. Team Azimio is strong,” said Junet Mohamed through a post in his face book account.

This is after a viral video emerged on Tuesday showing angry moments of Mombasa governor Aspirant Abdulswamand Nassir during the Azimio La Umoja Rally at the Tononoka grounds in Mvita Mombasa on Sunday.

The angered Nassir who was the host Mp was captured exchanging what looks like insensitive words with Mombasa governor Hassan Joho, prompting Suna East Mp Junet Mohamed Intervention.

It is reported that the Orange Democratic Movement ODM supporters protested Nassir, who was the host Mp from emceeing the rally, prompting his to cut short the speech and return to his seat as Junet took over the emceeing job.

Hell broke loose when Nassir held the microphone to invite aspirants, and even before the first aspirant, Said Abdalla,a cousin to governor Hassan Joho  made his way to the podium the charged crowd humiliated Nassir by hurling  stones at him.

The bitter Nassir, who expected to enjoy cheers and jeers from his home turf supporters, was shocked to receive the unfamiliar reception. Nassir is set to square it out with his rival, Suleiman Shahbal in the ODM primaries.

Both Nassir and Junet Mohamed were on Wednesday seen posing for a photo at Junet's office in Nairobi, after lengthy discussions on what Junet termed as matters related to the Azimio La Umoja unity clarion.

 “Last few days has seen so much rubbish said about me from a digitally manipulated video. In Tononoka,we drove together in the same vehicle to the venue and left together,” said  Mohamed.

On Tuesday, In response to allegations made by the former Mombasa senator Hassan Omar Senator, the Suna East Mp took to his Twitter to respond and defended his academic record.

"You know very well I went to Lenana and you left ahead of me.. but two things never happened... One of them is that I didn't get a D," he said.

Former Senator Omar had released a video castigating Junet and claiming that he failed in his KCSE exams.

Omar was reacting to a scuffle where Mvita MP Nassir Abdullswamad Sheriff was pelted with stones at a Mombasa rally held at Tononoka grounds where the ODM leader Raila Odinga was present.

The Travellers Beach Hotel Mombasa has been voted the best Hotel and Spa in the World Luxury Hotel and Spar Awards 2021.

The hotel beat over 20,000 other hotels to emerge the best in Africa after garnering majority of the votes to top the continent.

Addressing the media Wednesday afternoon, the Hotel general manager Hillary Siele said that the awards was a testament of the commitment they put to stay afloat amidst the pandemic that highly affected the Tourism industry.

Siele said that they had gone along way in terms of training and executing services to their clients, service recovery among other strategies

"We won the award well deserved through teamwork of members, Board of directors, guests and members of the public too to top the chart as an all inclusive hotel in Africa and the best spar," said Siele. 

He said that this was an assurance to their clients that their services stand tall and strong and that they will never compromise on their services.

He added that it was a mileage for the region and country at large that coast is an international tourist destination.

"The challenge In front of us now is consistency to maintain the award, I know with the team around we can do it," he said.

He stated that the pandemic adversely affected them but they managed to bounce back with things picking up slowly.

He added that they were in the process of making full recovery as hotels which were hard hit had to downscale in terms of workforce in order to remain afloat.

"This is a good indicator that we are headed towards the right direction, we are rolling out our holiday packages and are fully prepared in terms of programs and cuisines to tap into the school and Easter holidays, " he said.

In terms of bookings, the hotel has recorded about 50 to 60 percent with hopes of getting fully booked during the Easter holidays remaining high.

For 'Stock' a German tourist as he is popularly known by the hotel staff who has been a regular guest for the hotel said that the award is prove that the tourism industry in Kenya continues to dazzle the international market.

"I come here twice every year with my family and I'm very happy with service and the warm reception I always receive. It is a simple principal, gift the guests what they want and they will come back," he said.

He added that Kenya had an amazing coast line with white sandy beaches adding that he is always fascinated with the wildlife.

He added that the fact that hotel workers were vaccinated against the covid-19 virus gave confidence to more international tourists to visit the region and country at large. 

Congratulations are in order for Nnamdi Okafor, who has just been announced by entertainment company, Sony Music, as the new lead for the role of Digital Services and Partner Management operations covering all of Africa.

Nnamdi joined Sony Music Entertainment in 2019 under the role of Digital Specialist covering West Africa. He was responsible for managing key digital accounts (like Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, YouTube, TikTok), developing content strategies and managing CRM campaigns for local and international artists.

Having demonstrated impressive tact and skillful deployment of creative strategies in handling brands and product campaigns, he had the much-needed edge to advance over a pool of candidates vying for the new position.

In under 18 months of working with Sony Music, Nnamdi’s contributions have been astounding as they are valuable too.

He has impacted significantly on growing verticals of the business, increasing their market share, breaking multiple music talents globally including top selling artists like Gyakie, Ruger, Lojay, Mayorkun, T-Classic, Davido, King Promise and Wizkid as well as contributing to international campaigns for Lil Nas X, Beyonce, Elevation Worship, Adele, BTS and Doja Cat to mention a few.

He has worked very closely with DSPs and UGC partners to participate and manage the launch of several campaigns including Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio for their flagship episode which featured KDDO (Kiddominant), Gyakie as the pioneer Africa cover star for Spotify’s EQUAL campaign, Ruger’s Dior TikTok campaign, Boomplay’s For Your Ears Only FYEO and YouTube Shorts launch.

Expressing great delight over Nnamdi’s promotional feat, General Manager for West Africa, Oluwaseun Lloyd said  “In every business today, you must have a thriving technological department. Here at Sony Music WA our business is strictly digital and we found a great candidate in Nnamdi Okafor to lead the digital department with his skill and passion. We wish him all the best in his new role as he takes us to greater heights.”

Still full of commendation for Nnamdi, Taponeswa Mavunga who is the Director of Africa at Sony Music’s UK office and has worked with Nnamdi on numerous artistes roll-out and launch campaigns said; “Nnamdi is a hands-on executive and his reputation in the digital space is exemplary. He is also a genuine music man with incredible relationships across the board. These qualities make him perfect for this new role and I’m excited for this next chapter."

Nnamdi was also presented with a Recognition Master award by the MD of SMEA at the end of year event in South Africa and has promised to not relent his efforts in delivering with astounding strides.

Changamwe Mp Omar Mwinyi has declared his support for businessman Suleiman Shahbal as the next governor of Mombasa county.

According to Mwinyi his decision to support Shahbal is irreversible and based on his (Shahbal) qualities.

Speaking during an Azimio rally in Kwale, Mwinyi said Shahbal is the right individual to take over from Hassan Joho as the next Mombasa county boss.

" I believe Shahbal has the qualities and best plans to take our county, Mombasa forward. I don't support him blindly, I know what he is capable of " said Omar amid cheers from the crowd.

Adding " This seat deserves someone who is matured and not one who is just full of dramas , pride and theatrics."

Mwinyi is the only elected Mp from ODM party who has come out to declare support for Suleiman Shahbal.

Others who are Badi Twalib (Jomvu), Mishi Mboko ( Likoni) have declared their support for Mvita Mp Abdulswamad Nassir who is also eyeing the seat.

A supremacy battle between the two main rivals Nassir and Shahbal played out on Sunday during the Azimio la umoja rally in Tononoka where supporters of the two camps engaged in a fight as the ODM party leader Raila Odinga watched.

https://ommydalla.co.ke/politics/item/2702-raila-moves-to-assure-fair-nomination-as-shahbal-and-nassir-supporters-clash-in-azimio-la-umoja-rally-in-tononoka

Nassir and Shahbal will battle out for the ODM party ticket during the party primaries.