The Kenya Tourism industry got a major boost  after receiving her maiden cruise ship vessel, MV World Odyssey, at the port of Mombasa on Sunday after almost four years.

 MV Odyssey, which has 800 tourists (passengers and crew) docked at the Sh350 million cruise ship terminal that was completed in 2019.

No cruise ship has made call to the port since the onset of Covid-19 in 2020.

The timely arrival of the vessel towards peak tourism season is expected to boost the economy of the region and regain the glory of the Coastal city as a hub for tourism.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Penina Malonza, KPA management led by acting MD Ambassador John Mwangemi and the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) management were on site to receive the guests.

"The arrivial  of MV Odyssey is a much needed kicker to the industry which is recovering from the adverse effect of the pandemic," said Malonza.

Malonza said that the ministry will continue to actively engage with relevant stakeholders among them the ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to ensure thar the cruise industry benefits from the presence of essential infrastructure at the Kenyan coast

She said Kenya is ready to be part of the cruise tourism industry saying that the construction of the cruise ship terminal at the port by KPA is a laudable move and the first step towards tapping into the lucrative segment.

"The government will continue to develop and implement tourism policies that will improve the experiences of tourists visiting Kenya more specifically the coast region. These will include infrastructure projects such as the upgrading of the Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Ukunda Airstrip in Kwale as well as road infrastructure to support tourism," she said.

The KPA acting Managing Director Ambassador John Mwangemi said this was the first cruise ship to call to port at the newly constructed Cruise ship terminal after construction was completed in 2019.

 "The arrival of World Odyssey to the Kenyan coast is a positive nod and an affirmation of our country as a premier tourism destination and hub due to the varied fascinating experiences ‘Magical Kenya’ has to offer," he said.

 He reiterated that KPA is well equipped with all the facilities needed to welcome guests into the country. 

"We have customs and security installation together with all the necessary requirement. The next stage for KPA is to continue branding and marketing Kenya as a destination for this segment of the tourist industry," said Mwangemi.

He said that Cruise tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors that is international and has leveraged on the shipping and maritime industry to expand.  He added that before the advent of the covid-19 pandemic which significantly slowed it down, it was the fastest growing segment within 

the larger tourism industry.

"Since the early 2000’s, the Port of Mombasa has received numerous  cruise vessels bringing in thousands of tourists from all over the world to our shores," he said.

Mwangemi said KPA  has partnered with KTB and Port Management Association of East & Southern Africa (PMAESA) in promoting the Port of Mombasa as a cruise tourism destination to attract more vessels to the Indian seaboard through the Cruise Africa Association (CAA).

 He added that the state-of the art terminal is built to modern standards complete with various amenities including duty free shops, restaurants, conference facilities, passenger baggage areas, and offices for key stakeholders in the industry.

"The World Odyssey which has called our port today, operates the Worlds floating campus, an academic voyage for students commonly known as Semester at Sea," he said.

The Semester at Sea started its journey in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 9th September 2022 and has cruised to Lisbon-Portugal, Casablanca Morocco, Valencia- Spain, Dubrovnik-Croatia, Piraeus-Greece, Limassol -Cyprus, Aqaba in Jordan and now Mombasa-Kenya.

 From Mombasa it heads to Mumbai India then to Dubai before returning to Mombasa again on January 29 for a five day stay.

"This is my first time in Kenya. I'm expecting to meet the local people interact with them and get to learn more about the culture" said Kanon Mori, one of the visitors.

Christine Karue is the winner of the Toastmasters Mombasa area 3 speech evaluation contest.

The 43-year-old clinical pscychologist from the Tamarind Toastmasters club was awarded on Wednesday evening during an open house and area evaluation and humuruos contest held at the Tamarind hotel, Mombasa.

Lalindra DeS Silva of the Kericho Gold club emerged the second.

Toastmasters is a non-profit organisation that teaches people public speaking through regional clubs. The organisation has 30,000 members, with 15,800 clubs in 149 countries. It has been around since 1924.

Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.

In East Africa the organisation has member clubs in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Mombasa has over 120 members from different clubs including the Bamburi, Nyali, Mombasa Executives, Mombasa Island, Kericho gold and Tamarind clubs.

"I feel excited and grateful for having had the opportunity to test my toastmasters skills, I'm looking forward to seeing what the next level will be." said Karue.

Adding " I have been a toastmaster for four years now and I have learned alot about public speaking. i would like to encourage those who have not yet joined the clubs to do so since there is alot to learn."

Speaking during the event, the area 3 toastmasters director Wanjiru Mureith said the competition will now proceed to the next level which is the division level.

"There was a competition already held in these clubs and this was just a culmination, the winner will now go represent the area 3 clubs in the division conference" said Mureithi.

Adding "Competitions and contests are very important because we show people what toastmaster is all about. We also need to invite new members on a regular basis and this is one of the opportunities to invite new members so I would like to encourage people to join the clubs".

Three Mombasa youth based tech ideas have been awarded Sh300,000 seed capital each by UNDP after emerging top during a two day tech hack-a-thon competition held last weekend.

The awarding took place during the Blue Economy Innovation and Investment Summit that took place on Wednesday at Sote Hub in Nyali.

The event was graced by the Slovakian Ambassador to Kenya Katarina Zuffa Leligdonova who said that innovations and new solutions are crucial while addressing climate crisis or any other challenge a nation might be facing.

“I have been inspired today because the topic “green and blue” is close to my heart, we always say that we are ready to support any good idea, and this summit is one of them”

“Better understanding of challenges, decreasing vulnerability to climate change impacts and building climate resilience and putting forward smart solutions ,these are the reasons why we met here today,” said Zuffa.

She said that the key factor of development is the support of sustainable economic growth, job creation, as well as supporting mobilization of the Slovak resources and improving business climate in the partner countries.

She alluded to the fact that private sector engagement is a necessary condition for the success of development activities in every nation.

“To achieve this, we have created a special Private Sector Engagement Program. And in the pipeline is a project on investment in youth business in Africa,” she said.

The ambassador said that for non-commercial entities, they had a small grant programme for supporting small-scale development projects to enable a flexible and effective response to development needs at the local level.

She also announced that the embassy was planning to bringing over 25 Slovak companies in February next year to take part in a EU-Kenya Business Forum.

This she said will be a second visit of Slovak entrepreneurs to Kenya in less than a year.

“Without doubt it is a clear signal of increasing interest from our business environment and unique opportunities to develop further cooperation between Kenya and Slovakia,” Zuffa said.

She added that, “Kenya is our long-term development partner and main programme country since 2014. Our sectorial priorities are agriculture, job creation, education and health.”

David Ogiga, co-founder and director of Sote Hub said that the aim of the summit was to bring together all the stakeholders in the blue economy sector to share on the opportunities available and brainstorm on how best to develop solutions to challenges faced.

He said that technology in the modern world is an enabler and also an engine that fuels development.

“If we are able to employ technology then it will be able to help us enable our businesses to scale up, run efficiently and be able to offer services the best way to customers. We have so many opportunities for business in the blue economy, tech will enable us to collaborate and be more efficient,” he said.

Ogiga said that the incorporation of technology in to the blue economy sector was also about data which he said would make it possible to track progress.

The data he said would be very crucial in planning and making decisions both at the county and national level.

“If for instance we know the number of fishermen in Mombasa, we also need to know how much fish they can catch and how many they are selling in the market,” he said.

He added that incorporating technology into the blue economy sector will also go a long way in promoting value addition along the value chain.

He argued that most of operations are manual, therefore by deploying technology then one is able to automate operations which mean that output will be faster and in higher volumes.

“Technology  enhances value addition and when you enhance value addition, it means that you are  creating a balance between efficiency and productivity “

“Some might argue that introducing machines might lead to job cuts, but at the same time it creates jobs to those who can operate them, maintain and automate them. You cannot limit human activity from the equation,” he said.

He added that young people in Kenya were very creative and had developed innovative ideas, but the challenge is that they don’t know how to patent them saying that some people come with big investments and steal their ideas making millions of shillings as they live like paupers.

“We also held a discussion to know how we can help our young innovators to know at what point they need to register, whether it’s a trademark, patent or IP, they need to register and secure it,” he said.

The week-long event that ends on Thursday was funded by Slovak Aid with UNDP funding the seed capital to the top three innovators. Other partners in the project included Segal Family Foundation, Konza Technopolis and KTN Global. It was attended by notable partners in the Go Blue projects including GIZ Kenya,  Business Finland, MSEPT and KIMISITU SACCO.

The summit was co-organised by Sote Hub working with coast based hubs including Swahili Box, Close the Gap, BEI Hub, SwahiliPot, Tech Bridge and Global Youth Opportunity Network all under the Association of Countrywide Innovation Hubs in Kenya.

King Kaka has released the visuals for the second single off his upcoming album, 2nd Life.

Asante featuring Kidum is a special song to the rapper, as it touches on one of his most vulnerable times of his life.

The mellow and quite emotive “gratitude letter” is filled with tear jerking lyrics as King Kaka brings the listeners into his experience as he battled an illness that had him bed ridden for some months.

In the visuals, we get a glimpse of King Kaka’s family and the emotions that each of them were dealing with as his caregivers. 

Kaka Empire signee Femi One has been crowned as the best female rapper for the year 2022.

The 'Utawezana' hitmaker won the award for Best female rapper at the 2022 AFRIMMA Awards in Dallas, Texas.

She took to social media to share the good news with her fans thanking them for their support.

“We won!!! Best Female Rapper In Africa. The first East African Female rapper to take it home, it’s such a big pat on the back for my team and I for all the work we’ve put in throughout the years,” she posted.

Her boss, King Kaka was the first to congratulate her for the win.

“I’ve seen you grow, I’ve seen you build, now the world is ready for you. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you The Best Female Rapper in Africa @femi_one your story is a miracle, God Loves you. The Kaka Empire Team Big Up and everyone who made this possible,” he wrote.

In the awards Tanzanian singer Zuchu won the award for Best Female artiste in East Africa with Rayvanny taking home the Best male artiste in East Africa award.

WCB Wasafi President Diamond Platnumz was crowned as the Best Live Act.

Tekno, a multi-award-winning superstar and Nigerian afro beat sensation, delights his fans with a brand-new single named “Pay.” for his East African fans. 

Speaking about the song, Tekno says, "This song is dedicated to my East African family who have been very instrumental in shaping my musical career, as we approach December let everyone listen and enjoy Pay." 

Consequently, Tekno’s new number ‘PAY‘ is a pop single laced with good beats and guitar rhythm, proof that the Rara hitmaker understands his audience. 

The new single ‘PAY‘ serves as his 4th official single this year (2022), a follow up to- ‘After Party‘, ‘JINJA‘ and ‘Mufasa‘. On the new jam Tek Buga's his haters, saying Oluwa is on his side and he balls like Dangote on a steady.

Tekno began releasing music in 2012, and his career has been on a steady rise since. Shortly after releasing hits “Duro” and “Pana”, he began receiving global recognition.

 Pay is currently available on all streaming platforms.

Kenyan singer Nikita Kering is elated to have her face lighting up the LED billboard in New York Times Square, as part of Spotify's EQUAL Music Program.

Sharing a photo taken from the screens on her Instagram account, Kering expressed her joy.

"  I’m just grateful????#equalafrica Ambassador.Thank you @spotifyafrica for the opportunity to represent this initiative??cheers to many more wins" she posted.

EQUAL is Spotify's campaign to support women in the music industry and to stick up for equal opportunities for female musicians around the world.

Nikita made a break through in 2020 with the song 'Happy Without You' and has never looked back, turning out to be one of the major female Kenyan singers.

Lat year, the singer won two awards at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). She won the Best Female Artiste in East Africa and the Best Artiste RnB and Soul awards

Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir has sent a message of condolence to the family, relatives and friends of teachers from Memon Academy who died in a road accident on Saturday evening.

The teachers were part of a group who had traveled to Taita Taveta for a funeral.

The accident occurred at Joska's black spot in Taita and it involved a Memon Academy School bus. Initial reports indicates that there are fatalities, one critical injured and twenty five minor injuries.

In his condolence message, Nassir called for respect to privacy of those affected by the accident.

"At this stage, we would like to respect the privacy of those affected even as we offer our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. May God grant them comfort during this trying time." said Nassir.

On her part Mombasa Woman representative Zamzam prayed for comfort for the bereaved families.

"On behalf of the good people of Mombasa County We offer our sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy to the bereaved families. Wishing you peace, comfort, courage, at this time of sorrow. Our heart goes out to you at this difficult time." said Mohammed.

East Africa Legislative assembly (EALA)  Mp Suleiman Shahbal posted "I'm saddened by the reports of an accident involving the Memon Academy bus which was carrying teachers who were traveling to attend a funeral.My prayers and that of my wife Rahma go out to the family of the deceased, the injured, and the school management."

Coast based youthful golfer Fidel Wasike carded 45 stableford points to emerge the overall winner of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) 2022 Corporate Golf tournament  that  closed  its curtain after the fourth  and  final circuit of the tourney  played at the par71 Nyali Golf and Country Club Course in Mombasa County on Saturday.

The fifteen years old Wasike of Mombasa’s Braeburn International School playing off handicap 27 carded 45 stable ford points to claim the title for the crown bagging his second title  this year after  the recent 2022  Kenya  Association  of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC) played at the same venue.

An Estimated 252 golfers from the home Club and across the country attended the daylong 18 holes stable ford tournament  sponsored by Kenya Ports Authority.

"I had a rocky start but my team mates kept on encouraging me and I believe that is what made me won this tournament" said Wasike

Michael Kariuki playing off handicap 23  was the  Men winner on 43 points while  handicap 9  Miqdad  Walji  was the runners up  on a count back score of  42 points  after tying on the same points with third placed handicap 26 Dr. Atul  Shah.

The Lady winner was handicap 26 Jayne Githere with a score of 41 points beating handicap 17 Christine Ockotch to the runners up slot with a two point’s difference.

 Ijaz Sheikh  playing off handicap 24  brought 41 points to win the Senior prize  and  handicap 11  Alyssa Jamal  scooped the junior prize  after carding 36 points.

The staff prize was won by handicap 20 Japheth Obonyo  on 44 points  while  handicap 15b  Terry Oddo  settled  for the runners up slot on 38 points  and   Emmanuel Wambua playing off handicap 13  carded a  count back score of 37 points to win  the Guest prize.

Handicap 29 J.M.Muthuuri  brought 39 points to win the  high  handicappers  of  handicap 28  and over  prize  and  handicap 45 Lynette Oketch  was the  Lady winner of the  same for  handicappers  36  and above  after   carding 41 points.

The event was also graced by Businessman Brown Ondego,the Stallion International CEO Wilson Rading, the Chairman of Kakamega Sports Club Ambassador Bruce Madete, Wesley Bosuben of James Finley, Jacob Kamau of Union Tea Brokers, Lawrence Odhiambo of Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprise, Thusara De Silvia of Empire Tea EPZ and Peter Kimanga of Kericho Gold  among others.

KPA Communication Corporate Affairs Manager Bernard Osero said the Authority introduced four circuits this year in line with their customer and stakeholder segmentations focus.

He said the first one in the calendar year 2022 was held in Kakamega Sports Club for Nyanza and Western Region, then Nakuru Golf Club for central Kenya and north rift and recently at Muthaiga for the Nairobi circuit.

 “Mombasa is the Maritime hub for KPA operations through to the hinterland that it serves, hence the need for the final leg of the Tournament to be hosted in the Port City. The popular tournament is important to the Authority as it's used to appreciate customers and a platform for getting feedback as well,” said Osero.

 KPA Chairman of Board of Directors General (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana, flanked by the Acting Managing Director Amb.John Mwangemi thanked golfers for attending in large numbers and said they are happy to be host the final leg at Nyali Golf and Country Club to connect with most of their port users.