Month: March 2013

20th March and the gods decide to bless us with rain, but Nairobi being Nairobi, our gratitude is grumbling and gridlocks. On to the agenda of the day, ten things and K24’s rebranding generated the most stories. More below.

1. Vera Vera Vera. Read about her big brother antics here

2. K24 finallly unveiled it’s new crop of presenters, read that here

3. The condom ad that has ruffled feathers of conservatives and hypocrites in equal measure. More here.

4. Churchill decided to give you Jose of the ndrama phrase, meet him.

5. More k24 news here

6. DSTV increases prices again. Believe it.

7. Mercy Myra, Bamboo and Abbass release an Esir tribute, hear it here.

8. K24 rebranding, we have more pictures

9. Even more social media drama concerning k24. Esh, more here

10. Maina Kageni lashes out at priests. Read that here!

K24 is on a roll, rumour has it that even the guy who says ‘Africa Cinema Continues Oh’ was poached. I however cannot verify those claims as I don’t have a telly…yet. I prefer books, but I shan’t toot my own horn.

Now, they have rebranded and thanks to Ace of Eye-con Photography, I can share those pictures with you incase you missed this event. Feast thine eyes earthlings.

Catch the latest blockbuster, comedy, action, fantasy and animated films at the Starflix Cinema screens this weekend and throughout next week. Check out the schedule below:

Hansel and Gretel starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton & Peter Stormare
Daily: 4:30pm, 6:30pm, 8:30pm

Hotel Transylvania starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James & Andy Samberg
Daily: 11:00am

The Hobbit starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen & Richard Armitage
Daily: 1:00pm

Ni Sisi starring Joseph Babu Kimani, Jacky Vike, Peter King & Godfrey Ojiambo
Daily: 11:30am, 12:15pm
Fri – Sun: 11:30am, 12:15pm, 2:30pm, 6:30pm, 8:30pm

Antics aside, some people just skyrocket into fame thanks to social media and Kenyans’ ability to create conversations from the most mundane of things. This however, was not mediocre by any chance.

Remember him? Jose the witnesser is now a household name, and soon to be a brand if his plans go well. When he was interviewed, it was clear the phrase “Ni kama ndrama ni kama vindio” was going to go viral and viral it went! It was inevitable, Kenya loves their shrubs and ridiculing is a national past time…seemingly. Trust Churchill to bring him to his show, it is currently the top trending topic in Kenya. Atleast Jose supports charity, he even plans to launch an album. Watch the video below.

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After a period of searching for a host, with even a job vacancy announcement posted on job sites, Kenya’s premiere show that pulls away high and mighty CEOs and moguls away from their comfort zones of being in the office and takes them to task on their cooking skills in kitchen has found a new hostess.

After the exit of Nini Wacera, the show could not replace her immediately and so it was forced to take a short break after a successful first season and also to hunt for a new host. However, the show made a comeback on Sunday after getting a new host for its new season (Season 2).

Karaoke host Nimmoh Mukuria (above) is the new host for Dads Can Cook on Kiss TV. Nimmoh is artist and basically does anything pertaining to art; music and poetry and now she will be hosting a cooking show and she can’t wait to get on TV to find out what it holds.

She has hosted karaoke nights at Club Brown Bottle, Klub Image and Klub Zinc. Nimmoh hosted the show for the first time last Sunday where she had a diplomat on the show.

Be sure to catch her on Kiss TV every Sunday at 8PM.

On Friday night, KTN’s investigative journalist who concentrates on investigative and national security news, Dennis Onsarigo was attacked by gangsters as he left I&M Bank building where Standard Group offices are located.

Onsarigo is rumored to have been attacked with regard to his sensitive job. According to rumors going round he was attacked by a gang of 7-10 men for allegedly breaking the news about the Kenyatta University rampage where students attacked IEBC officials.

However, Onsarigo denied that the attack was work-related in a tweet a day after the incident. He also guaranteed that he was fine even though still in pain. “Am fine but in pain. I was attacked by a group of seven-ten men on banda street at around 11pm. Nothing to do with work,” tweeted Onsarigo.

Later that day, Onsarigo thanked everyone who sent him get well messages via twitter and confirmed that he was recovering well.

I just received this from Quincy Timberlake himself. The man is claiming that his family is still being pursued by Kenyan agents out to do them harm. Read more to find out:

Government officials from the Kenya are sneaking into southeast Asian countries disguising themselves as refugees to track down on Quincy Timberlake and his wife Esther who has fled the country.

An officer with Kenya Human Rights Commission on Wednesday said that a number of Kenyan asylum seekers who had sought refuge in the Asia-Pacific had been attacked in Malaysia by unknown people.

Two months ago, Timberlake was kidnapped and tortured for three days before he was released in Malaysia.

However, a Kuala Lumpur OCPD said that the investigations were still underway but no suspect had been arrested.

Last year, a member of a ruthless police wing was arrested in a South Eastern Asian country where he had gone to seek refugee status, claiming that his life was in danger in Kenya while his real mission was to food poison Timberlake who is on the run. He later confessed that he was sent by his seniors to pursue Timberlake for holding credible information on the UN most wanted Rwandese fugitive hidden by the Kenyan government.

The arrested suspect allegedly killed Eddah Pacha, in Kisumu, Kenya. Eddah was Timberlake’s sister who was vocal against how her brother was being maltreated for courting Esther.

They were heading to Nakuru and along the way, they strangled her to death and the body dumped at Nyamasaria, near a temporary Army camp set up to “wipe” post election demonstrations.

After the death of Eddah, friends and family members of the suspects started threatening the family of the deceased, prompting the brother to go in to hiding and seek protection from UNHCR in Nairobi, as he remained to pursue justice. Unfortunately, the security personnel at the offices’ gates were attached to politicians. They sent him away.

Timberlake is believed to be holding crucial information of the most wanted Rwandese fugitive Felicien Kabuga. Kabuga is wanted for genocide in Rwanda which killed over 800,000 people. Kenyan officials are hiding the fugitive who was at one time Timberlake’s neighbor. He then reported the matter to the police about the whereabouts of the fugitive only to be tortured by the same government which promised hefty rewards of anyone with a lead information to his whereabouts. Since then, Timberlake and his family has been running up and down looking for safety. Their lives are in serious danger.

Some refugees also expressed fear that there could be similar state agents hiding in one of the refugee camps with a mission to murder Timberlake and his family.

What say you? Do you believe him?

I remember this lad -Zain Armstrong because to be honest, everyone was envious of him back when i was still in high school. He was voted the hunkiest teenie back in the day in some Insyder story and i remember that every lass was salivating at the thought of having him.

He was simply just that guy. Then, he was an actor on a show that used to air on KTN called “Better Days”. He was just hot real estate property then. He’d turn up at Blue Times or one of those clubs and the lasses would go crazy.

Then Pulse ran a story about him getting upto some indiscretions with some diplomat’s daughter in a loo and that to be honest was the last i ever heard about him. Until Saturday when i was having a chat with some lasses old enough to remember him and we all wondered what happened to him.

He never transitioned onto another show after the end of Better Days like i’d have expected. I wonder why. Maybe school was involved. Maybe he lost the passion. Who knows.

The mystery of the Larry Asego photos has been solved. It’s all about the bigger and better Season 3 of the Guinness Football Challenge.

Guinness Football Challenge, the TV game show which has excited audiences across Africa for the last two years, is back for an incredible 3rd Season, and this time around, it’s going to be Pan-African. The show kicks off on Wednesday 20th March at 8pm, 16 contestants from Kenya step up to see if they have what it takes to ‘Play for their Country’.

The Guinness team held auditions in Mombasa, Nakuru and Nairobi late last year and from the hundreds of hopefuls, 8 teams of football loving Kenyans have been selected to star in the new season of the show. They will first take on other football loving teams from Kenya, in the trivia and skill challenges on the Guinness Football Challenge, and the teams who achieve 100% and show that they can be a player and not a spectator will then go on to represent Kenya in the Pan-African competition. 

The Pan-African episodes will see the best teams from the national episodes go head-to-head with contestants from Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda to see who has the skill and knowledge to go all the way and be crowned Pan-African champions and with it  a chance of winning up to 250,000USD (approx KSh21M).

Fans of the show can also get ahead of the Pan-African competition and see how their football trivia compares to the other nations by testing their knowledge on the Guinness Football Challenge mobile phone game.  Sign up for free at Guinness VIP, the mobile social community for football lovers, m.guinnessvip.com, to test your knowledge to see where you stand on the all new Pan-African leader board.

Season 2’s hosts Larry Asego and Ugandan beauty Flavia Tumusiime will team up again to host Season 3 and take the contestants through the national rounds.

It seems the competition for Big Brother positions is steaming hot. Literally!

Big Brother auditions started recently, and they are now in the final stages of shortlisting contestants to participate. Vera was among the shortlisted competitors, and boy did she make her case solidly! Now this girl is well known for her overtly sexual persona, which has been demonstrated in the past by the fact that she has named her booty(find out why by clicking here).This makes her a prime target for Big Brother audiences, who eagerly anticipate things like seeing the female contestants naked during the Shower Hour.

According to eye witnesses at the auditions, Vera was dressed in a dress when she went in front of the judges. Shortly into the interview, she proceeded to bend over and remove her undergarments in full view of the judges, and the contestants who were waiting to go after her. Needless to say, the judges were very impressed by what they saw, and cheered Vera on every step of the way!

When I asked Vera why she did it, she said, “I was simply feeling hot, and so I decided to remove my panties. I mean, why should I have gone all the way to the toilet to remove them? I just decided to do it there, I don’t see anything wrong with that. I got a really good reception from the judges. They were really having a lot of fun during my whole audition.”

Vera is famous for having got P-Unit’s “You Guy” video banned from TV. Read about that story here.

PS: due to unforseen circumstances, this is the last story you will see about Vera on Ghafla! for a very long time.

According to standard digital, Pay TV service provider ZUKU which is DSTV’s main competitor albeit at quite some distance has moved to grow its market share with a 5 million dollar (393 million shillings) investment in a new satellite platform.

The aim of this investment is for it to give Zuku room to add more channels in a bid to diversify its product offering.

Zuku, the second largest Pay TV service provider by market share says the upgrade also gives it flexibility that currently is not available on its terrestrial network, guarantying faster market access.

I have no idea what the last part is about or why the writer had to use such complex terms but it’s all good. Watch the video of that interview with KTN here:

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After taking a look at the new developments at the refurbished K24 TV station, let’s now shift attention to the new faces that joined the station from the competition and the pre-existing ones. The 15-member team is what you will now be seeing on your screens.

The team includes talent such as Hassan Mugambi, Jimmi Gathu, Anne Ngugi, Jamila Mbugua, Ahmed Bhalo, Nuru Abdulaziz, Remmy Majala, Resian Lebai, Joy Kiruki, Richard Kagoe, Alphonce Oladipoh, Belinda Obura, Tom Mboya, Nyatichi Nyasani and Franklin Wambugu.

Here they are;

Kiswahili News anchors

English News anchors

Young & fresh talent

Business News anchors

Ali Mtenzi

Ruhila Adatia-Sood

Nyatichi Nyasani

Waweru Njoroge

Richard Kagoe

The entire team

Yesterday night during a colourful event graced by the PS in the Ministry of Information and Communications, K24 reached yet another milestone after the station carried out a complete overhaul.

The unveiling of the new logo

It was an out with the old; in with the new scenario. During the event, the Uhuru Kenyatta-owned station unveiled a totally new look (logo & studios), a brand new team of seasoned journalists, new programming and a wider reach and stronger frequency guaranteeing you a clear reception.

The new logo

K24 was started six years ago as the first 24-hour news network that forever changed the media landscape in Kenya. Over the years, K24 has scooped countless awards, thanks to its growing viewership.

The new studio

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Last week I gave you the low down on the romance brewing at Phoenix Theatres, did you catch that?

If you didn’t, read that here. Now, Phoenix was a huge part of Nairobi Half Life, and finally imevuka border border! Jaguar dance anyone? I stumbled upon this update on Densu Moseti’s wall and and I started doing backflips in my head! “NAIROBI HALF LIFE will be getting a theatrical release in 46 cinemas in the USA on Thursday March 21st 2013….” My birthday has gotta be a special day I tell you, and no I’m not tryna solicitate for cake.

It continued to say “On March 21st 2013 NAIROBI HALF LIFE will screen in cinemas across the USA for one night only. Audiences at each venue will be asked to vote on whether the film should receive one week’s theatrical release at each participating cinema. If the majority vote ‘yes,’ then that film will return to that cinema for a week’s theatrical release. This is the first time, that a Kenyan film is getting this kind of exposure in the USA. We need your help to support this event, we need numbers! Spread the word…tell your mother, tell your lover! Lets get all the participating the cinemas packed and most importantly vote YES! to give thousands more the opportunity to see this amazing film.”

So there you have it, please call all your peoplez and ask them to phone their kith and kin. These guys have done a lot in putting Kenya on the global map, do your bit and ensure that NHL permeates the American film scene. This; this could be the the first of many more Kenyan films to show in Obama-land. Go ahead, call away!! Nairobi Half Life may have missed out on the Oscars, but that has in no way stopped the accolades from pouring in. Lets ensure that NHL maintains this amazing trajectory.

Last week Mugambi Nthiga gave you advice on how to gather yourself after an audition, I’m hoping you read that because such titbits of wisdom go a long way in helping you securing your place. I’ll share the link to that in a while.

Check out Director Tosh Gitonga below holding the AFI Breakthrough award for Nairobi Half Life. Did you know that The New Yorker named him one of the most fascinating Africans of 2012.

Awesome huh? Now more on this unfolding story. NHL will be screened under the Feature Film Project, which is presented by MANHATTAN SHORT. The Feature Film project is designed to discover, market and promote one Feature Film through established cinema networks that otherwise might not have had the opportunity to find an audience, gain distribution and get discovered.

The video below is Mugambi Nthiga explaining on video what his project is all about. For a list of all the cinemas that NHL will be showing, please click on this link. Again, please spread the word!

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For more information on this campaign, check out the NHL Facebook page for Nairobi Half Life, the twitter handle is @NHL_Movie and the hash tag is #NHLgoesUSA. Again, why am i ranting and raving about this, please read this awesome piece that I shared last week from Mugambi Nthiga. 

Ladies and gentlemen, i’ve just come across the new trailer for this Friday’s “Tujuane” which is a dating show that tries to set up Kenyans looking for love -if love even exists. The show airs on KTN at 8pm sharp and it inadvertently discovered Kenya’s number 1 diva from South C Madharau Mirfat.

Anyway, in this friday’s show we will get to see a lad who i think is after mine heart tell a lass upfront that while he’s feeling her, he has a girlfriend tucked up snug somewhere. That is a real man! Men don’t run around playing games. This chap is really honest and open. I just hope his lass knows of his polygamous ambitions.

Then there is the idiot who brings up his date’s weave on their first date. Talk about a formula for being on Team Forever Alone! Never talk about a ladies hair unless you’re complimenting it you buffoon! That is Gentleman Etiquette 101!

Or maybe i should open a school where i educate Kenyan lads on how to win over the ladies like “omo smooth guy”!

Check out the trailer below:

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If you are dating someone who doesn’t know what Gtv is, they are too young for you! She/He probably just learnt their ABCs and you think they are ready for the D/P. Shame. But if they do then this means you are probably one of the DSTV clientele who like me are longing for the good old days when DSTV had serious competition and had to slash their prices. These days they have a virtual monopoly. Then again that is just my opinion.

Well, take heart. CCK has taken up the good cause and are finally trying to negotiate with all the intrested parties to get some mature and fair competition going.

After Gtv went under, DSTv got back the lion’s share of the EPL rights and that granted them a virtual chokehold in the pay tv services industry. Yep, Multichoice has exclusive content from the EPL amongst other leagues.

And just so you understand how important football is over those soppy telenovella soap operas, the exclusive rights fuelled MultiChoice’s market dominance in Africa— including in Kenya.

The CCK and other industry rivals had demanded that MultiChoice share its exclusive content including the EPL. The CCK claims that similar content-sharing models have already proven successful in UK, Italy and oh looky here Baba Ghafla, Nigeria!

i for one hope something can come out of this. If it isn’t all just hot air, we the consumer stand to benefit. Read about the prices announced here.

The Church in Kenya has always been vocal on issues that affect its believers and the public at large. A section of religious leaders have condemned the communications regulator (CCK) for failure to take action against a condom advert aired on national TV stations before prime time news.

According the Church leaders, the “Weka Condom Mpangoni” advert, intended to educate the public on the importance of condom use, is promoting immorality rather than playing its intended role. Bishop Julius Kalu of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Mombasa Diocese, said the advert openly agitated for extra-marital affairs and sex among school-going children.

In the ad which has been on TV for quite some time now, one of the ladies inquires about the other’s husband and then immediately seeks to find out how her mpango wa kando (clandestine sexual partner). The first lady then goes ahead to explain that even though her husband may be away, that does not mean that she miss out on “fun” since the other guy is readily available to provide it. The second lady then counsels her to always use condom whenever she’s having “fun” with her mpango wa kando.

A section of Christians are even arguing that the Weka Condom Mpangoni ad is against the word of God and also encourages adultery. They go ahead to pose what happened to “wives submit to your husbands” or “wacha mpango wa kando? Check the ad below and share your views;

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This comes just months after Fresh Fri’s TV ad raised questions and had guys arguing whether it was the epitome of creativity or profanity.

The recently concluded Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards were full of pomp and colour as we reported here. More to that, two Kenyan shows XYZ and Lies That Bind emerged winners, and were widely celebrated. Read about XYZ here.

There seems to be one Kenyan entrant however, that has not been accorded the accolades and respect due. Yellow fever by Ng’endo Mukii was voted Best Short Film in Africa.

According to Lola screen festival, Ng’endo Mukii, shall be gracing the 64th monthly Lola Kenya Screen film forum on March 25, 2013 at 6.00PM. Besides the award-winning Yellow Fever, several of her other shorts shall be screened and discussed at Goethe-Institute.
Lola Kenya Screen Festival, is a specialised film screening, discussion and networking forum for practitioners in the eastern Africa audiovisual media sector. It is aimed at critiquing, encouraging and exploring ways of integrating film production in Kenya and eastern Africa with other socio-cultural and economic sectors in order to come up with a vibrant film industry.
LKSff is often one of the first places where new films can be seen and new talent spotted.

Ng’endo’s bio from thenge.com reads like poetry.

“On the ides of March, a creature with a fiery afro was born. Small in stature and withdrawn in nature, she led a reclusive life on the highlands of Kenya,overlooking the Savannah seas. Receiving her prymary education under the instruction of Catholic nuns, she left her home to experience the century’s super power. She later passed many moons, prancing in the queen’s country, nibbling on crumpets and seraching through. Today she can be found armed with a pressure sensitive stylus, and a macro lens. She spends her time between Nairobi and Tsavo, animating little children,photographing dung beetles and running away from scorpions.”

I think I’m in love. Please watch her here.

Everytime an article about Dennis Itumbi goes up, it is bound to raise dust like a whirlwind. This is a man who is thought by some to court controversy. I however shall not get drawn into that matter. First things first, happy birthday Dennis Itumbi, it’s only polite that I send good wishes.

Now, much has been said about The Daily Kenyan Post apparently, though I personally had never heard of it until today, honest truth. I’m told I live under a rock. Now apparently, the rumour mills have been rife with fodder Dennis Itumbi owns or atleast churns content for this post. He however took to his Facebook account to refute these unsubstantiated reports. Taking you back,you guys remember when Ghafla! shared the police transcript after his arrest sometimes last year? Read about that here.

In his own words he said, “Let me put it on the Record – I do not own, run or contribute any article to The Daily Kenyan Post, Neither do I hold any pseudo account, I say what i have to say through this forum(His facebook page), and other official handles, even when I comment on forums I use my names…..” Well there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. As you were.

He was recently accused of hacking into IEBC systems, that was discussed in length here.

After witnessing, the “media genocide” levelled on NTV by KTN, recently K24 did a similar thing to Citizen TV. With K24’s re-launch today, we take a look at all the journalists that the TV station has poached from different media houses.

Maybe you have been wondering where they vanished to because you no longer see them on your screens. Well, they will be unveiled today on K24 and they are;

1.    Frankline Wambugu

2.    Tony Timase

3.    Nyatichi Nyasani

4.    Belinda Obura

5.    Ann Ngugi

6.    Chris Thairu

7.    Jimmi Gathu

8.    Tom Mboya

9.    TerryAnne Chebet

10.    Dancan Khaemba

11.    Job Mwaura

12.    Yassin Juma

13.    Purity Mwambia

14.    Isabella Kituri

CNN International and MultiChoice last week officially launched the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2013 Awards.  The Awards provide journalists with an opportunity to showcase the continent’s journalistic talent and provide a platform to tell the African story.

Last year, Tom Mboya and Evanson Nyaga were awarded the top prize at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2012 Awards ceremony. Their work ‘African Tribe in India’, which aired on Citizen TV, Kenya was chosen from among 1799 entries from 42 nations across the African continent.

This year, the competition will recognise excellence in the following categories:
·    Culture Award
·    Digital Platform Award  
·    The Coca-Cola Company Economics & Business Award
·    Environment Award
·    Free Press Africa Award
·    Mohamed Amin Photographic Award
·    MSD Health & Medical Award
·    Print General News Award
·    Radio General News Award
·    Sport Award
·    Television Features Award
·    Television News Bulletin Award
·    Francophone General News Awards  
·    Portuguese Language General News Awards

From these category winners, an independent judging panel choose the overall winner – The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2013.

Finalists in the 2013 competition will participate in a finalists’ programme that will include a media forum and networking opportunities with senior journalists, editors, business leaders and media owners from across the continent, culminating in a gala awards ceremony later in the year. All finalists receive a cash prize and each category winner also receives a laptop and printer. The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2013 will receive an additional cash prize and will have the opportunity to participate in the CNN Journalism Fellowship at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.
 
Entry Forms:
Entries dates are March 14th with to April 17th 2013.   
Download the entry form at http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/africanawards/submit.html  You can collect together with your  completed entry form, stories and CV to present or have delivered to a physical address near you.

Should you have any difficulties, kindly contact the Admin team in London directly for assistance at cnnafrica.competition@turner.com

English forms will be electronic versions only (pdf and online entry form). English media not wanting to fill out entries online can print them and still hand in at the various collection points.

Collection point:
All Kenya entries should be sent to Ms Fradinah Ondara at A24 Media who will send to CNN. Contact details for Fradinah at A24 are:
Africa 24 Media
No. 3 Mzima Springs Road, Lavington
PO Box 45048
Nairobi, 00100
Kenya
Tel: +254 (0)20 434 9543/5