President Uhuru Kenyatta today chaired a Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi, which discussed and agreed on a roadmap for resolving the maritime border dispute with Somalia and measures for safeguarding Kenya’s territorial integrity.

The Cabinet resolution, which will be communicated later today by the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, will also safeguard Kenya’s marine resources including offshore oil and gas exploration acreage in the Indian Ocean.

The Cabinet also discussed and approved the Sectional Properties Bill 2018. The Bill simplifies the process of registering sectional properties and creates an enabling environment for investors and property owners.

The Sectional Properties Bill 2018, which vests reversionary interest on individual unit owners, also guarantees rights of property owners by conferring absolute rights to them.

The proposed law will enhance revenue collection since each unit will be assessed separately for purposes of payment of ground rent and rates.

The Bill also provides for the closure of the mother title or head lease to prevent mischief by property developers.

The formulation of the Sectional Properties Bill 2018 is informed by the fact that the current law is not responsive to emerging market needs such as the growing demand for affordable housing, mixed use and master-planned communities as well as efficient mortgage transactions.

The Cabinet discussed and approved the operationalization of the Kenya Commodities Exchange (KOMEX). The operationalization of the commodities exchange will address the constraints faced by both small holder farmers and consumers by providing an organized market through a single platform where buyers and sellers meet. It will ensure better farm gate prices for farmers.

Other benefits of KOMEX include providing access to proper storage and warehousing especially for primary producers, miners, and farmers during bumper harvests. It also provides for stability in product price and quality hence guaranteeing better profit margins and reduce risks associated with lending to the agricultural sector.

The Cabinet also discussed and approved the hosting of the 12th Commonwealth Women Affairs Ministers (WAMM) meeting by Kenya in September 2019. The event is expected to attract over 1000 participants from across the Commonwealth and globally including 53 Ministers in-charge of gender and/or women affairs and their delegations.

The WAMM meetings are held every three years since 1985 in regionally rotating venues to ensure equitable opportunities for hosting among Commonwealth countries. The meetings provide a platform for delegates to strategize on emerging issues, share experiences and lessons, and forge common positions on topical gender issues.

Former Miss Tanzania and actress Wema Sepetu has been given the green light by the Tanzania Film Board to continue make films. 

This is after the board imposed a ban on her October last year following some explicit video she shared online.

Wema came out and apologised to her fans and members of the public after the video went viral on social media promising not to repeat the act.

Joyce Fissoo, The Film Board representative explained that the ban was lifted on the basis of an agreement between them and the actress and that she had satisfied 75% of the requirements they had put out.

The scandal also saw her arraigned in a local court, Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court but was later released on a TSh10 million fine.

Wema who has been nominated for the Sinema Zetu film festival as Best Actress welcomed the move promising her fans more movies.

“Miezi sita haijawahi kuwa kipindi kirefu katika maisha yangu kama kipindi hiki nilichokuwa kwenye kifungo nilichopewa na Bodi ya Filamu Tanzania" posted Wema.

She added "Wanasema Yaliopita si ndwele tugange yajayo… Sitokaa na kukumbuka yaliopita maana yameniumiza kwa kiasi kikubwa, nitakachofanya ni kujipanga upya na kuwa imara zaidi… Sina mengi ya kusema kwakweli maana nina furaha iliokithiri".

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta was today morning joined by journalists drawn from local and international media houses for a training session as she gears up for the 4th edition of the Beyond Zero Half Marathon slated for March 10.

The training session which started at 6.30 a.m with a warm up session was led by athletics  trainer and former marathon world champion Douglas Wakiihuri and included an over 10km jog around State House Nairobi grounds. 

Briefing the press after the training session, Wakiihuri said the First Lady has been training consistently for the last three weeks and, is fit and ready for the marathon. 

While urging more people to sign up for the forthcoming run, Wakiihuri said that in order to run the half marathon with ease, one has to be disciplined and observe a strict training regime. 

He said that First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has maintained as strict training regime over the years which she has accelerated in recent weeks ahead of the March 10 Beyond Zero marathon. 

“You have to do endurance, speed, strength and at the same time take care of the wear and tear of your body,” Mr Wakiihuri said.

“All this, combined with proper nutrition, puts one in a good stead and fit enough to run the half marathon, ” he added. 

Peter Gacheru, the CEO of IMG Kenya who are the event managers for the  2019 Beyond Zero Half Marathon, said that besides the traditional 21km, 10km, 5km categories, a special 2km walk for pregnant women has been included so as to raise awareness on maternal health. 

The organisers have also incorporated paralympics to take care of athletes living with disabilities. 

“We have also incorporated Paralympic games this year. We will have a wheelchair and tricycle 21km race. And for the first time in any of the road races in Kenya, we shall have three categories of the visually impaired – T11, T12 and T13 – participating in the 21km marathon,” Gacheru said.

In addition, Gacheru said there will be a 10km special run for the Beyond Zero sponsors and corporate teams.

He said 25,000 participants are expected to take part in this year’s Beyond Zero marathon.

Beyond Zero coordinator Angella Langat said that the Beyond Zero Half Marathon is the anchor fundraising and resource mobilization platform for the First Lady's child and maternal health interventions. 

She said that the resources raised through the marathon will be used to expand the coverage of Beyond Zero's health interventions to cover more Kenyans in need especially those in hard to reach parts of the country. 

When a guest comes to town surely you show them only the great and the glistening and glamorous in your city, right? ,especially if he is one of Nigeria’s hottest hip-hop stars and an Afrobeat legend and has come all the way from Lagos to see you.

But sometimes people get better insight into who you are if you show them where you have come from. And that was exactly the approach of Kenyan rapper Khaligraph Jones  when Nigerian artist Rudeboy came to town: “We needed a good introduction to each other.” And that introduction was his hood. 

For those who don’t know, hook master King Rudy a.k.a Rudeboy was once part of P-Square, the group that put urban Nigerian sounds on the worldwide map and laid the foundations for the global force that is now Afrobeat.

Kayole is far, far away from the red carpet swag of the music scene (He won Best Rap Act at the AFRIMMA’s in Dallas, Texas, USA last year) and it was there that respected rapper Khaligraph Jones not only visited his old school and former place of employment as a Chapati seller.

A key visit was Big Beats Studio, a tiny studio in a small shipping container gave Rudeboy an unexpected flashback.

“This takes me waaaay back to my struggle and hustle and makes me think of where I am today,” he explains. Nodding his head and playing out his very first track Khaligraph Jones says: “This place is very special to me as it’s where I laid my foundations as a musician.”

As they joined youth in the streets bumping his tracks and chanting the chorus of Khaligraph’s latest hit, it was hard for Rudeboy to believe that a mere four years ago this was where his new Kenyan friend lived.

“I saw where he used to stay, you can tell this guy went through a lot!” said Rudeboy

As the two stars climbed onto the roof of the building and the sun set over the hood, the great energy and inspiration of their day out sunk into their heads, and the melodies, street slang and topics that will make up their Coke Studio Africa track started to come…

Next Sunday 24^th Feb 2019, catch rising Kenyan star Nadia Mukami make her debut on the Big Break segment, alongside King Saha (Uganda) Yared (Ethiopia) , Shellsy Baronet (Mozambique) and Jux (Tanzania). Watch all episodes via www.youtube.com/cokestudioafrica

Check out some photos below

Tanzanian music star Harmonize is expected to release his new EP 'Afro Bongo' .

The artist has been sharing details about the release of his social media pages.

UTACHAGUA MWENYEWE KAMA 1 UTAIWEKA KIBINDONI NYENGINE UIFUNGIE NA MBELEKO MGONGONI 1 UIPAKATE MIGUUNI ILA MIE NAACHIA MAWE MA (4) KWA PAMOJA ..!!!!! 1#Harmonize x Burnaboy × Simba
2 #Harmonize x @mreazi 
3 #Harmonize x @yemialade 
4 #Harmonize x @sarah__tz 
YOOOO....!!! AFRICA THIS IS FOR YOU...!! #AFROBONGO ????? ?✔ HEBU NIPE MUDA WENYE KISMATI CHA NGOMA KUGUFUMUKA DUNIA NZIMA JAMANI....!!!! ? SANGAPI ⏰ ....?????

Among those featured in the EP includes Diamond Platnumz, Mr Eazi, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy and his girlfriend Sarah.

The EP will be dropped end of  this week.

French President Emmanuel Macron will make a two-day State visit to Kenya mid next month.

French Ambassador Aline Kuster-Menager, today confirmed that the French President will visit the country when she paid a courtesy call on President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.

President Kenyatta said he looked forward to hosting the French President, saying he expects the visit to break new ground in the bilateral relations between Kenya and France.

“Traditionally, Kenya and France enjoy strong bilateral ties and I am pleased that we've continued to deepen the relations. I look forward to the visit by President Macron,” President Kenyatta said.

During President Macron's visit, Kenya and France are expected to sign several agreements and MoUs covering various subjects of mutual interest between the two countries. 

The proposed rapid transit train service between Nairobi Central Business District and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is among projects expected to feature prominently when President Kenyatta hosts the French leader in Nairobi. 

The Mombasa County Government has today launched the electronic parking(E-parking) system.

This will see car owners pay for their parking through their mobile phones by just dialing *282*  and register for the service. Upon registration the county receives all the data of the motorist including the name of the motorist and car number plate.

You will only be required to register once and ready to use the system each time you  park your vehicle at the parking lots in the city.

The attendants will be able to know if one has paid or not through a special gadget that they will be using and in case if you have not paid you will receive a message on your phone  to tell you that you have been clamped , you will then be issued with a sticker and the clamp message which means that the next day you will not be able to pay until you clear your arrears.

It is estimated that there are a total of 6,000 vehicles that use the parking lots in the city, with 30 parking attendants in service.

According to the County Deputy Governor Dr William Kingi , this system will not only make it easy for car owners to pay their parking fees but also ensure the integrity of the payment system. 

"It will no longer depend on the faithfulness of the parking attendant to ensure safe transmission of payment to the County Government" said Kingi.

He called on the residents to embrace the system stating " The recent improvements in service delivery in Mombasa rely on the acceptance and cooperation of the users" 

The DG further revealed that the digitization of revenue streams in the County has seen the County Government increase the share of local revenue from 2.4 Billion in the year 2015 to about 3.2 Billion in 2018.

"This increase has come against a backdrop of depressed economic activity and reflects efficiency in revenue collection" said the DG.

On his part the County Secretary Francis Thoya noted that the County Government is looking forward to ensuring that all its services especially on revenue allocation are digitised and available on electronic platform.

Multi-talented indie pop musician and performing artiste Idd Aziz, has released the audio of his new song Pole Pole currently available on all digital platforms.  Written and performed by Idd Aziz, Pole Pole is produced by Jesse Bukindu and mastered by Dillie.

Pole Pole is a Swahili word which is loosely translated to slowly slowly in English. The track is an authentic Kenyan sound which is aimed at encouraging the youths to take it slow in life despite the harsh circumstances and realities that surrounds them.

Speaking on the new release, Idd said, “My fans have been asking for more music, this is just but the beginning of an eventful year full of good music from me, they should expect more from me – I am sure they will definitely enjoy this one!” 

The multi-talented singer and producer is currently working on several Afro-House songs due for  release in the coming months.

Its official!, Singer Dela is currently in a relationship with Dr Reign, a qualified physician who also doubles up as a rapper.

The two have just released their collabo,a love song titled 'Good Bad Boy'.

In an interview with Ommy Dallah, Dela confirmed that they are dating revealing that their new song was inspired by him (Reign).

Below is the interview, listen