Month: July 2012

Esther Arunga was no doubt a beloved newscaster and one of the most highly regarded TV personaities at the peak of her career. But right at the crest of it, she gave it all up to join a church, get married and launch her political ambitions. It led to a series of court battles, one in which she even sued her parents.

A baby later, exit Hellon–the default leader of the wolfpack at the height of the madness–Esther is back in the news, claiming her life is in danger and moving abroad, and making claims that she is in the U.S. raising cash for her political run.

In between all the media attention and raising a family, she is also looking for a job documents show that she has been seeking work abroad and using more than just facts to ensure she secures one. Besides various awards she claims to have been given in the country and abroad, one even bestowed by the state, she claims to have “Brought a dawn light into the media industry.”

We know she worked at Capital FM and later KTN, but she doesn’t specify to which media houses she dawned her light on. But apparently, in one media house, she “Introduced new script editing and perfect journalism by giving airtime to the unexpected breaking news from within the unfortunate backyards.”

She also “Brought a dawn light into the media industry in Kenya by challenging the politicians to face public debates and present/defend their development records within their constituencies” according to her resume.

During her employment at HazRisk in Australia, she “Established cash flow planning for the first time and managed overall Company’s treasury activities with project and working capital financing facilities of approx AUD 125 million;” Whoa! She also “Overturned HazRisk’s International emergency recruitment drive which saw the company returns grow enormously. “

In her other unspecified employment in Australia, she “Introduced a mixture of Kenyan and Australian legal defence systems in New South Wales courts which saw lots of my clients win charges against them.”

In the first part of the Esther Arunga in Dubai story, we detailed how she hustled cash out of her friend and even requested to be hosted by her simply after The Friend commented on her Facebook post, she was ready to uproot her family from Kenya to Dubai.

She had initially asked for cash for her son’s passport. But later requested for her’s too because she needed to have it changed to Esther Timberlake. Soon enough, the The Friend found herself providing money for Quincy’s passport, too. The Friend then organized tickets for the trip, after which the Timberlakes asked to be sorted out with Visas, too.

This is where the friend decided to draw the line. She asked them if they had other “friends” to help them out. She took pity upon them and sent the couple 1,000 dirhams (about Kshs. 23,000). Soon enough, they asked The Friend if she knew someone who would be willing to givem them a loan against their BMW. She asked her brother but he refused immediately he heard Quincy was involved.

They managed to travel either way. Their flight was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. but they traveled on the 11:00 p.m. flight on January 27th, 2012. According to them, they had traded the BMW for Kshs. 40,000 worth Visas. She also complained that her foot was hurting because they had to walk all the way to JKIA catch their flight. This, she said, was the reason they missed the 4:00 p.m. flight. All this she did while she was expectant with her second child.

Documents confirm that the Timberlakes had already been making payments in preparation for the trip as early as November the previous year. Quincy’s passenger ticket information shows they checked in at the airport at 1:40 p.m., traveled economy on the 4:40 p.m. flight whose expected arrival was 10:40 p.m. on 29th of January, 2012.

So, now the Timberlakes have arrived in Dubai. Keep it Ghafla! for the rest of the story and how Quincy’s paranoia unsettled their hosts.

The most anticipated film of the year finally makes a debut in Kenya today as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises premieres at cinemas across the capital. Movie lovers are bracing themselves to experience what the rest of the world has been on and on about since its worldwide release of the 20th of July 2012.

Hot on the heels of The Amazing Spiderman which became the highest grossing film EVER for a Tuesday opening, The Dark Knight Rises took home a massive $160million (approximately Kshs. 13.6billion) on its opening weekend to take over the international box office estimates.

The estimates were way ahead of the next film Ice Age: Continental Drift which has so far taken home $20million (approximately Kshs. 1.7billion) but failing to match the strong showing of Marvel’s The Avengers. Speculators predict though that this will be the next billion dollar movie having amassed over $222million within just over a week of opening.

Below is the bouquette of titles you can enjoy at the theatres from the weekend of July 27th-August 2nd 2012: 

The regional premiere (and in Kenya) of:

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES IN 2D

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Crime

Starring: Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway

Ghafla! Rating: 9/10

Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight, in which he took the rap for Dent’s crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to cope with Bane’s plans to destroy the city.

SHOWING AT:

Fox Cineplex Sarit Center

Starflix Prestige

NuMetro Village Market

IMAX XX Century

*****

ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT (2012)

Genre: Adventure, Animation

Starring: (voices of) Ray Romano, Dennis Leary

Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.

SHOWING AT:

Fox Cineplex, Sarit Center

NuMetro Westgate

Starflix Prestige

*****

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN (2012)

Genre: Adventure, Action

Starring: Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield

Ghafla! Rating: 7.0/10

Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors, his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero..

SHOWING AT:

Nu Metro Westgate

Starflix Village Market

(in 3D) Fox Cineplex Sarit Center

(in 2D) Fox Capital Center

IMAX XX Century

*****

GONE (2012)

Genre: Thriller, Drama

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Carpenter

Ghafla! Rating: 6/10

When her sister disappears, Jill is convinced the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned, and she sets out to once again face her abductor.

SHOWING AT:

Nu Metro Westgate

*****

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED (IN 3D)

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Starring: (the voices of) Jada Pinkett Smith and Ben Stiller

Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still trying to get back to the Big Apple and their beloved Central Park zoo, but first they need to find the penguins. They travel to Monte Carlo where they attract the attention of Animal Control after gate crashing a party and are joined by the penguins, King Julian and Co., the monkeys and a new arrival: a performing llama. How do a lion, zebra, hippo, giraffe, four penguins, two monkeys, three lemurs and a llama travel through Europe without attracting attention? They join a traveling circus.

SHOWING AT:

IMAX XX Century Plaza

Starflix Prestige Plaza

Fox Cineplex, Sarit Center

Starflix Village Market

Fox Capital Center

*****

PROMETHEUS (IN 3D)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Horror

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall Green and Michael Fassbender.

A team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship “Prometheus” on a voyage to investigate Alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind.

SHOWING AT:

Nu Metro Westgate

*****

MEN IN BLACK III (IN 3D)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy

Starring: Will Smith, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones

An alien criminal kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself.

SHOWING AT:

Nu Metro Westgate

*****

THE AVENGERS IN 3D

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Sci Fi

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson

Ghafla Rating: 9/10

A 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures1, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction.
Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay that was originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011 and New York City in September 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

SHOWING AT:

Nu Metro Westgate

Starflix Village Market

*****

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure

Starring: Christen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth

Ghafla Rating: 7.5/10

Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen. Unable to tolerate the insult to her vanity, the evil queen decides that Snow White must die. The queen sends a huntsman to kill Snow White. However the huntsman finds himself unable to murder the innocent young woman, and instead ends up training her to become a warrior capable of threatening the queen’s reign.

SHOWING AT:

Starflix Prestige

*****

COCKTAIL

Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy

Starring: Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan

Ghafla Rating: 6.5/10

The story revolves around Gautam Khanna (Saif Ali Khan), Veronica D’Costa (Deepika Padukone) and Meera Gupta (Diana Penty). Gautam Khanna (Saif Ali Khan) always had a dream to go to London and have a job. His dream is fulfilled and he gets a job. But his mom, Nita (Dimple Kapadia) says that she has to finalize his marriage to a girl and so he has to wait. She finds her perfect ‘bahu’ in Meera Gupta (Diana Penty). But she does not tell Gautam about this and tells Meera’s parents even to not tell Meera. She tells Gautam to take her friend’s daughter Meera as she has an assignment in London for 3 days. On the flight, Meera and Gautam befriend each other. In London, Meera has some problems completing her assignment and therefore fails to give it on time. She loses her job but then Gautam consoles her. They go on a beach party and there they meet Veronica D’Costa (Deepika Padukone)

SHOWING AT:

Fox Capital Center

Fox Sarit Center

Nu Media Westgate

****

LOL (2012)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Starring: Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore

Ghafla Rating: 3/10

In a world connected by YouTube, iTunes, and Facebook, Lola and her friends navigate the peer pressures of high school romance and friendship while dodging their sometimes overbearing and confused parents. When Lola’s mom, Anne, “accidentally” reads her teenage daughter’s racy journal, she realizes just how wide their communication gap has grown. Through hilarious and heartfelt moments between mother and daughter, LOL is a fresh coming-of-age story for modern times.

SHOWING AT:

Starflix Village Market

*****

THINK LIKE A MAN

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Starring: Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart

Ghafla Rating: 8.0/10

Four women have given up on getting their men to do what they want until they find a how to book written by Steve Harvey. They start using his advice about relationships, and their men start falling in line, until the men discover what the women have been doing, then the war is on.

SHOWING AT:

Nu Metro Westgate

Fox Capital Center

*****

AT THE TOP OF THE BOX OFFICE is:

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

*****

A release we’re looking forward to in Kenya next month is:

STEP UP REVOLUTION(2012)

Genre: Music, Romance

Starring: Kathryn McCormic, Ryan Guzman

The Mob sets the dancing against the vibrant backdrop of Miami. Emily arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with Sean, a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs, called “The Mob”. When a wealthy business man threatens to develop The Mob’s historic neighborhood and displace thousands-of people, Emily must work together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause.

*****

Picture a flick with such heavyweight super stars as Kate Beckinsale, Colin Farrell and Jessica Biel in a fast paced action flick. Merge that and you get ‘Total Recall’. 

Check out the trailer to ‘Total Recall’ in our movie highlight this week…

1. This lady was kicked out of TPF5 but she is the first to release an official track. Pretty awesome, huh?

2. So, after Alex was kicked out of the BBA game, can you believe that he’s shocked to find Kenyans mad at him? Here’s why.

3. After all the drama that Esther Mwende and Pastor Njoroge caused, a song has now been released with regards to this.

4. Capital in the morning run into trouble with the authorities. Now, what?

5. Even after receiving hate for nominating Prezzo for evictions, Alex is still not rooting for Prezzo. He’s votes are going to Wati.

6. Chiwawa comes clean on claims that he slept with Abbas’ ex-wife, Baby G.

7. Nameless gave the BBA housemates a virtual visit and it was just awesome. Check it out.

8. That’s not all, even American rapper, Nas drops in on the BBA housemates and Prezzo just couldn’t control himself.

9. Is it true that Esther Arunga lied about her achievements so she can get employed abroad? Find out the facts behind this story.

10. Could this artist be better than Jay Z and Ray Charles? Check him out.

It is emerging that the Timberlakes are nightmare guests to have. When they left Kenya for Dubai earlier this year, they put their hosts through a rough time which started even before they moved there.

When a friend of Esther’s from Dubai commented on her Facebook about her family, little did she know it was the beginning of a string of incidences that would push her to the brink. And it all started with a Facebook comment where she commended the young couple on their beautiful family.

Right after the Facebook comment, Esther turned on her friend asking her if she was mocking her considering her recent activities as shown by the media . When her friend confirmed that she is not even in the country and has not really been following the stories, she softened up and asked for her friend’s number. Esther then called her and immediately asked for cash saying she needed it to help her relocate to Australia.

Esther’s Dubai friend then sent her Kshs. 7,000, for which Esther asked to be given more to top up a balance she had. Her friend could not help her further and that’s when Esther asked her to at least send her money for food. She was touched by the request and offered to send whatever she could. But that was just the beginning.

She was later to hustle the same friend not only for cash for her child’s passport, but also for herself and Quincy. But that was just the beginning. Check out the second part of the here.

According to documents, it seems the former TV anchor has been working really hard to sell herself abroad as a Kenyan media big-wig. She has been presenting herself as a Presidential Shield Winner in 1998 among other major achievements abroad incuding excellence customer service officer at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in Australia.

We will concentrate on the Kenyan achievements, though. In 2010, apparently, she was awarded Media Personality of the Year at the Kenya Media Awards. For those who remember, this is the same year she quit KTN as a newscaster and hit headlines by joining a church where she was “given” a God-appointed husband to marry.

2010 seems to have been a big year for her. Not only was she awarded Media Personality of the Year, but also Food Nutrionist/Dietician of the Month (month not indicated) by a body named Victoria Dietics. Her awards streak was not limited locally. In the same year, she was named Lawyer/Solicitor of the Year by Hazrisk Managment in Australia according to the letters she’s been sending to potential employers.

And the awards didn’t end there. In 2011, she was named Personality of the Year in Kenya. Name of award nor body has been indicated. Some awards are not dated but apparently came after 2010, including getting a TV Journalist of the Decade Award from the Kenya Media Awards.

Ghafla! is yet to establish if such an awards body as Kenya Media awards exists.

Today Nasty Nas, admittedly one of Prezzo’s role models, made a surprise appearance on the Big Brother Stargame show. He came to the contestants briefly and chatted with them about the change they can make in Africa.

Nas, in a televised showing, had a message that would resonate with every African. He said:

 

“We have heard the news that Africa is the place to be. For many reasons, the top two in investments and creativity. So when I also hear about the challenges that face Africa, especially on food security, I have no doubt in my mind, that Africa can overcome its challenges. I have no doubt in your heart of hearts, that you want to see Africa become the jewel of the world. I have no doubt that you can be the change you wanna see. Thank you people for staying true to the motherland, and join one as one, for those who need change for Africa.”

 

Excited does not even begin to describe the look on Prezzo’s face when he saw his role model addressing him. He begged Big Brother to play the video again, but to no avail. Here is the footage of the incident:

The Timberlakes are back in the news. Esther Arunga and Quincy Timberlake recently came out in the news claiming that her life is in danger and it was the reason for their fleeing to Australia.

Reports now indicate that Esther is curently in the U.S. trying to raise funds for her Karachuonyo parliamentary seat bid in the upcoming elections. The two, together with their son, left the country after they claimed their house was shot at by unknown assailants.

The duo have lost their third wheel, Hellon, who even confessed to being wrong about Quincy Timberlake. The two are now set to come back with new adventures. From how it has been seeking work abroad, rare diseases money troubles. Stay tuned.

Biggie is indeed full of surprises and he never stops. Good thing is, the next surprise is usually bigger than the previous and the Big Brother Housemates have now come to embrace this.

The housemates are currently going hard on their latest tasks which all revolve around the One Campaign that aims to fight hunger in Africa. Through this campaign, they have managed to meet many African celebrities who have encouraged them to go even harder than they already are.

Just a few hours ago, Kenya’s Nameless paid a surprise visit to the housemates via a video, courtesy of Biggie. Nameless encouraged the players to go on with feeding the continent and to take care of their Thrive Garden.

With all these celebrities video dropping on the housemates, I wonder who’s next?

Being a professional in your field would make watching amateurs making a mess of whatever it is your passion quite painful to watch.

As an experienced dancer, 91.5 Hits drive time show presenter Koome Gitobu comes out in this interview with his opinion of what exactly he thinks about what may arguably be Kenya’s leading dance competition show ‘Sakata’.

He also gives some advice to not just the judges but the producers of the show ‘Sakata’ in this exclusive interview. Have a listen below…

Despite all the hate that ex Kenyan Big Brother Africa contestant Alex has received from fellow Kenyan for betraying Prezzo and placing him on the chopping block, he still maintains his ground.

It might just be that Alex is completely free and honest with his choices of who should win the BBA price money, or he just doesn’t give a penny about Kenya taking taking the price this time round.

Even with Prezzo having a huge chance of bringing the money home and Alex evicted from the house, he (Alex) still insists that Malawi‘s Wati and not Prezzo should win the game. I guess we’ve just lost another vote for #teamprezzo, huh?

Alex told Capital Lifestyle in a recent interview that Wati should take home the $300, 000 and that he’ll be rooting for him all the way.

“I think he should win cause he’s a smart guy, and nice when he’s not intoxicated,” Alex said. Well… that sucks!

We witnessed deja vu all over again. Alex did to Prezzo in the Big Brother House exactly what Kaz did to Didge back when they were still in the Project Fame competition in South Africa. Kaz paid for it as Kenya did not hide its disappointment in the singer. But all that is history now.

Alex’s case on the other hand, seems to be at its peak right now. Apparently, the ex Big Brother housemate was surprised to find Kenyans extremely angry at his actions while still in the big house. If you are still oblivious on what’s going on, let me bring you up to speed briefly. Well, Alex nominated Prezzo for evictions from the BBA show, not once, but twice, as every other Kenyan was busy trying to keep them both in the game. Reason being, they didn’t see eye to eye. What happened next was rather funny. Alex was evicted and Prezzo was saved by Africa’s majority vote.

Alex who is now back home is trying hard to understand why Kenyans are so pissed off by him, and I think its just started to sink in.

In a recent interview with Capital Lifestyle, Alex said, “We are just different people with different personalities. And his personality conflicted with my interests and that’s it. I did not pretend. You saw it when he came at me just for giving Goldie a compliment. I was like hey man relax, but he didn’t. The next he was treating me like nothing had happened, no apologies nothing. I found him a bit too aggressive and that was that. There was no beef at all. I don’t keep grudges.”

Well, I believe every man is entitled to his own opinion and that is his. At the end of the day, a player played the game. At the same time, I have a feeling that Alex is in for a rough ride. Oh, don’t forget, #teamprezzo all the way!

A Kenyan rapper meets Outkasts’ Big Boi, an XYZ remix and an “interesting” Kenyan rock song among other stories.

1. Calif Records Artistes Accused of Promiscuity

 

3. Caroline Mutoko Appointed as KTDC Chair

4. Check out Camp Mulla’s Taio Tripper back in the day

5. Martha Karua Singing to Tiwa Savage’s ‘Kele Kele’

6. Juliani’s song with international artist, Anthony Faulkner video released

7. Brand New Hip Hop Track From Upcoming Artistes

8. Is this Kenyan rock song for real?… Really?

9. The Next Big Club Banger

10. Upcoming Kenyan Rapper Gets Chance to Record at Outkast’s Studios