Month: June 2015

The idea of a grand gesture of love is something a lot of people toy with, but actually putting it into action proves a daunting task mainly due to financial constraints or fear of your private life becoming public.

Laura Akunga Muriithi the CEO of Benchmark solutions did not seem like someone inhibited by finances and showered her husband with the grand gift of a Toyota Land Cruiser V8.

This grand gesture had Robert Alai blasting her by attempting to expose her as a fraud, and now Radio Jambo presenter Joseph Ogidi a.k.a Gidi Gidi has some damning details to reveal about her

I hear our good lady Laura Akunga of the 10M VX gift is now being investigated by KRA apparently her company has been allegedly filing nill returns….The price you pay for expressing Love publicly waa

Attempts to reach Laura proved futile.

After 9 years of leading Nation Media Group having taken the mantle on November 2006, today was Linus Gitahi’s last day at the Kimathi Street Based Media house.

In addition to serving as the C.E.O of NMG he also serves as the Executive Director of Equity Bank – South Sudan. Before joining Nation Media Group,he served as Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKline, West Africa until September 30, 2006.

Joseph Muganda was expected take over from him on July 1, 2015 but I guess they decided to do it earlier. This was Larry Madowo’s message in regards to Linus’ departure:

When Lupita bagged a n Oscar award for the best Supporting Actress we were pretty excited and could not wait to welcome her with gourds of mursik, mounds of ugali and a bale of fish.

All the plans had been laid out in anticipation for her homecoming. But Alas she never showed up and Kenya’s support for her stood on shaky ground. Attending her sister’s wedding and supposedly ‘snubbing’ Kenyans did not go down well with many people but Lupita explains her absence and this will placate people’s anger.

The nature of my job as an actor is that I have to be present where the work is happening and that is really what has been keeping me away from home because I have been busy building the career that you are all so proud of me for and so it’s taken time to find the time to step foot officially in Kenya.” said Lupita

Before adding that “I hope it’s never too late to come home, you know …it’s nothing more than the logistics of my life that have had to be certain things and I am particularly pleased that I have come with something to say”

Source: Nairobi News

Never has a first family captured the attention of Kenyans quite like the Kenyatta family. And any moment shared between the family is often a source of great interest and excitement.

But it seems that we have missed a great moment in the Kenyatta family, their gorgeous daughter turning 25. Back on 23rd 2011 Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Kenyatta posted this” My daughter Ngina has crossed a great milestone in her life as she turned 21. I’d like to wish her great success and happiness and let her know how proud of her I am. Happy Birthday Sweetie…”

But he was quite this year and the daughter was also silent about it, until this photo surfaced:

Photo:Nairobiwire

Today the world joined hands to mark the social media day. Social media has been on the rise sporadically over the last few years, and it is arguably the most used platform across the world. It is argued that with time, it will just take over from everything because of its effectiveness.

And as the world joined hands to celebrate this big day, the giant telecommunication companies in the 254 were not left behind either.

In fact they are the ones who make sure we use our social media by providing us with network services and several other things. Do not forget the gadgets we use.

Safaricom Kenya was at hand to start the conversation. Before I show you how it went about, remember we have always believed these companies do not see eye to eye thanks to the increased competition amongst them.

But boy we are misplaced.

Safaricom picked the conversation by wishing Airtel and Orange a happy social media day on their twitter handle. They tweeted:

The move looked like a shocker to many but you wont believe how professional ninjas in these companies are.

Airtel responded by saying:

Then Orange had this to say:

I wish I were around to see Airtel, Safaricom and Orange drink and eat from each other’s cup and plate respectively.

Vanessa Chettle gained notoriety after a very unsavory article was posted on a popular and controversial blog.

In the blog, Vanessa Chettle was accused of infecting a model, actor and a Radio presenter with HIV and had to take a public HIV test to prove that she was clean.

Her notoriety soon turned into fame when people realized that she was in the clear and soon became one of Kenya’s most popular socialites.

After not making news for a while, she is back, with a rather interesting deal. She is willing to cough up 25,000 Kshs for anyone who will help her find her cat

Posting this:                                            

I’m giving out a cash reward of 25,000/= for the return of my beloved pet #Mocha

I just want him back

Vchettle@ymail.com

( photo evidence required )

Yesterday we reported to you that NTV reporter Brenda Wanga and her husband Allan Wanga who strikes for the national team, Harambee Stars, had escaped unhurt from a bad road accident as they drove from Naivasha where they had gone to spend their weekend.

The couple was in company of their two children, former FC Leopards and Harambee Stars striker Jacob Keli and his partner when their car veered off the road and rolled once.

See also: NTV Anchor And Her Footballer Husband Survive Horrible Road Accident (Photo)

Luckily, they all came out unhurt.

After the ordeal the couple has now met with opposition leader Raila Odinga. In what is believed as checking on them after the accident, a photo has emerged showing Allan and Brenda meeting the former premier in his office.

Brenda is currently flying high with a feature story she did about young girls forced out of school and into early marriages in Siaya, Nyanza, while her husband is in the country for holidays.

It is also rumoured Allan is finalizing his move from Sudan where he is plying his trade to South Africa to join a new club.

Sizzling hot KTN anchor and the most powerful woman in liquor industry recently rubbed shoulders but not without gulping down a glass of beer!

First thing first, it wasn’t a drinking spree just in case you were thinking Tabitha Karanja and Sophia were drinking themselves silly.

Liquor consumers say Summit Lager is the best product that Keroche breweries stock shelves with. How true this statement is only they can prove.

Well Sophia Wanuna paid Keroche boss a visit. Their meeting couldn’t end without quaffing a glass of Summit Lager.

They were however not drinking to get high, not at all. Mrs. Karanja was only showing Sophia how refined her brand was.

When you become famous things that you once thought were irrelevant such as a letter to your brother, your wedding dress or your baby pictures can fetch quite a lump sum.

And Malik Obama’s half-brother is fetching some serious mullah from selling private moments between him and Obama inform of letters. In 2013 he made around $15,000 for each hand-written letter he sold , which were two so he made about 3 Million.

And now he has sold another letter for an undisclosed amount. In the letter to Malik, Obama speaks about getting into politics, Michelle and finishing his first book

‘’…As for me, I am very busy these days. As you can see, the book is finished and in the bookstores, so I have been going to various bookstores to talk about the book. In addition, some colleagues of mine here have talked me into running for the Illinois State Senate (like being an MP for a province, not the national United States Congress in D.C.) I have agreed, since I have an interest in politics to deal with some of the serious issues blacks face here. Of course, it involves a lot of campaigning, going to meetings and so on, which I don’t find so attractive. Anyway, if I win it will only be a part-time post, and I will continue my work as a lawyer. Michelle is fine, also busy with her work.” reads an excerpt from the letter.

Check the rest of the letter below:

Photo: momentsintime.com

Finding a wife is a good thing but finding a good wife is another experience. Ask the Star’s Oliver Mathenge and he will tell you for free that this is the reason he pissed off Nation’s Njoki Chege with the manner he celebrated his beautiful newly married wife.

But it is not Oliver alone who knows what it is to treat a woman. MP Ababu Namwamba has shown the way before by flying out his sweet partner to Icelnad to enjoy the cold breeze of the European country.

Well, all this have happened and it seems radio presenter DNG learnt this very well from Ababu and Oliver.

The former singer-turned-radio personality is the latest man to fly his wife out to Germany where the two are sharing endless kisses, exchanging saliva at will as they enjoy their stay in Europe.

These photos depict every moment they are having and it just tells you that this is all a woman wants.

Have a look: 

After she ‘sneaked’ into the country, Hollywood actress, Lupita Nyong’o, today held a press conference at the ritzy Villa Rosa Kempinski.

Word on the street has it that Lupita is a snobbish celebrity who can cause you unreversed humiliation dare you try approach her for whatever reason without her approval.

These rumors sprang up when Lupita made his way to Uganda then went back abroad without visiting Kenya.

Her secretive visit to Kenya to attend her sister’s wedding that was held in Naivaisha also hyped the grapevine.

But what really made Kenyans ‘hate’ Lupita was the recent incident where her security detail roughed up a journalist for taking her photos.

Put all these incidents together then you have solid evidence to support the claim that Lupita is snobbish.

But wait a minute, how come Larry Madowo managed to penetrate Lupita’s aura?

Larry met Lupita after the press conference and he shared intimate time with her. The revered NTV anchor says Lupita is ‘very nice.’

She is very nice yet she is treating other people like garbage. Nice my foot!

There are never-ending perks to being an A-lister celebrity, from the complimentary costly gifts to lucrative deals; the benefits that come with milking the fame cow are endless.

But then there is the flip-side, getting beleaguered and followed by fanatical admirers. Some of them get so crazy that you are forced to issue restraining orders against them when it escalates to an uncomfortable level. For example when your fan is a threat to your very life or safety.

We have heard of some frightening celebrity stories such as a man sneaking into Rihanna’s house and declaring that he is her husband. To Liam of one Direction confessing to having stalkers lurking outside their house waiting for him to come home.

Closer home celebrity stalker issues and creepy admirers are a dime in a dozen and Jack Vike shares her experience:

{youtube}QnpWdHi9r_k{/youtube}

 Radio personalities Wanjira Longauer and Amina Abdi, both working at Capital FM, are set to link up in hosting the Kenyan spin-off of the talk show, Moments with Mo on EbonyLife TV (DStv Channel 165) from July 1, 2015. The launch of their show will coincide with EbonyLife TV’s second year anniversary.

Moments with Mo is hosted by Africa’s Queen of Chat, Mo Abudu, and has become famous as Africa’s first and only syndicated daily talk show. The Moments with Mo spin-off will be launched simply as Moments and will closely mirror Moments with Mo in structure and style. However, Moments with Mo, still remains on air across the continent but will now appear occasionally for only a limited number of VIP interviews.

Moments will be launched in four flagship countries, to include South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, being the first phase of the roll out as a celebration of creating and broadcasting original, premium and inspiring content with an African soul that showcases the best of Africa for a global Black audience.

A key highlight of Moments is that each focal country will have its own home-grown co-hosts. Another important feature of the new Moments is that each of the four countries will have its own array of guests. Also, each country will have its location shoot which would take place every quarter; each would also have its own full episodes featuring interesting guests and inspiring stories from across Africa; and even more importantly, demonstrate its own uniqueness through its peculiar local symbols and distinctive cultural identity, making the show truly authentic to the country in question.

However, no matter the cultural diversities reflected on Moments from country to country, all the shows will be unmistakably bound together by a number of set props that will be unique to the format, defining it and making it single-minded to viewers across the continent.

To watch Moments promo videos and for more information, visit www.dstv.com.

Amina Abdi

Wanjira Logauer. 

Yesterday, Laura Muriithi made headlines in both mainstream and online media after she gifted her husband with a 10 Million Kshs car for his 30^th birthday.

Of course this kind of grand gesture has been met with a lot of reactions, with some idle people digging up dirt in a weak attempt to rain on their parade.

You know that crop of people, those that are often bitter and extremely hurt when good things happen to others. Anyhow, salty people aside, I think the best reaction to this grand gesture came from her husband who could not believe it.

And kept asking if he was being pranked with someone in the crowd telling him “uga bu hanini tiga urimu(Scream a little, don’t be silly) as he was literally dumbfounded. Check out his reaction:

{youtube}l0s6eNI1fCo{/youtube}

As I watched in fascination how President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga put aside their political differences to share a joke and then accompany it with laughter and smiles, I felt so warm. I mean warm that I thought for myself, how would Kenya be if we always woke up to such moments?

And as I sunk into deep thought, Citizen TV quickly switched to the main story. Kisumu Diocese Archbishop Zaccheaus Okoth was celebrating 47 years of service in the Silver Jubilee Elevation. And of course he was made a Metropolitan (whatever that means I don’t know. I am not Catholic).

As I watched with amusement how little girls joined their parents and grandparents to dance to the sweet songs that emanated from the systems, our head of state and his opposition counterpart emerged holding the archbishop between them.

And alas! Is this not the man I saw 3 months ago in the centre of a corruption expose by KTN’s Dennis Onsarigo? Well, I doubted myself until I landed on this story I did on the 27^th of March, 2015.

See also: Unearthed: How Kisumu Catholic Archbishop Swindles Money From The Vatican In The Name Of Church Projects

Dennis Onsarigo had gone ahead and exposed how this man swindled millions of shillings from the Vatican in the name of projects in Nyanza only to pocket all the cash.

You still doubt this? well, watch here:

But here he was. Bringing together the top leaders in the country and being celebrated by almost everyone in the region.

This begs the questions:  Did Dennis Onsarigo and KTN lie about the archbishop? Did we just ignore the expose and moved on? Or did we just accept and move as we are always reminded? 

Here is how it went down in Kisumu yesterday. 

Video courtesy: Citizen TV

Could it be the most decorated birthday party for a 1-year-old toddler? Betty Kyallo’s daughter clocked one year on 20^th of this month but Betty Kyallo and Dennis Okari had to wait for a week to celebrate.

Celebrity child, Baby Ivanna, was yesterday thrown a birthday party that has turned out to be the talk of the social media.

Ivanna’s birthday bash was graced by Betty’s colleagues at KTN among other popular faces. Joy Doreen Biira was among the guest who showed up.

She showered Betty with praise saying she was made to be a mom. Joy recently received a bouncing baby boy.

Now the cakes at Ivanna’s birthday were what drew interest. There were many ‘strange’ cakes, as in they were unique in unusual way. The way they were decorated!

They say that when it rains it pours, and this adage is 100% true and when it comes to the media scene right now, we are experiencing a downpour of Budalangi proportions.

Within a short period of time we have seen TV stations fire people indiscriminately with people from NTV and KTN getting laid off. Now Ghetto radio is having an overhaul with about 10 people being suspended indefinitely. They were handed their suspension letters yesterday and told to wait for the feedback from the company. Others have decided to leave on their own accord with one marketer known for her ‘butt that won’t quit ’leaving before it all went down.

Batman who hosted the morning show alongside King Kafu after Solo left has been pulled off air until further notice.

The morning show will now be hosted from tomorrow by Annitah Rey who had been fired before, Maji Maji the general manager for the radio station and King Kafu.

Annitah Rey and Majimaji

Those safe from the axing/suspension include Bonoko and DJ Bling.

Keep it Ghafla for more of this story…trust me there is more coming.

It’s hard to replace Maina Kageni….let alone stand in for him. For the last few days, he hasn’t been around to present his morning show and what we’ve been subjected to is playtime on a deserted park. Larry Asego, the guy who’s usually brought in to Maina’s work when he’s away just doesn’t have the same mojo. Every morning, Larry struggles to spread his foot into Maina’s gigantic shoes. But why is it so hard to replace Maina?

There’s only one Maina

The first true reason why it’s hard to replace Maina is because there’s virtually no one who can replace him. And there lies Radio Africa’s conundrum: Larry is a smart, personable workaholic with a tremendous skill set. But does he have the range to cover the remarkable spectrum of diverse, family and business issues that Maina has maestroed for years? Hell no

No one sells things the Maina way

If you are a keen Classic 105 listener, you must have noticed that the number of adverts in the morning show have lessened ever since Maina went away. It seems like corporate are not willing to bank their mulla on anyone else than him. Maina advertises land, insurance, power events and all kinds of cash rich ventures. He does this with a form of fluency and persuasion that no other media personality in Kenya has mastered.

Too often in selling salespeople are told, “Ask a lot of questions.” Well, that’s nice; but if we ask haphazardly, without a purpose, we are likely to ask irrelevant, disjointed, or non-germane questions that result in a non-cohesive exchange. That’s Larry’s weakness Customers are irritated by that. They will shut down. When they do, they close their lens of disclosure.

As well they should. Customers reward professionals and punish amateurs. And good for them for doing so. This reaction is fair, and it’s very predictable. Maina is a professional. Everyone else is an amateur

Probing Skills

Maina knows how to listen, and he knows the types of questions to ask. His consistency is unswerving. Regardless of the person or situation, He is adept and adroit when incorporating probing skills from his side of the microphone.

A great listener listens with a very distinct purpose: He or she listens to the speaker while looking for two things, content and emotion. Content, of course, is what someone says. Emotion is the emotional amplitude tied to what he or she is sharing. Maina retains what he hears, and zeroes in on areas of emotional value to the caller. .

Established fanbase

The styles of other presenters don’t resonate well with Maina’s established fanbase. There’s a reason why most people only listen to classic 105 during morning hours only. Maina has a fanbase that not anyone can manage to satisfy. Some are critics some are loyalists but they all listen to him. Over the years, the senior bachelor has showcased his improvisational skills as well as the penchant for delving into matters controversial. The species that can bring the same magic to the table is rare and endangered

Chemistry with King’ang’i

It’s been clear that King’ang’I and Larry Asego have no chemistry whatsoever. Maybe it’s because King’ang’I (Churchill) is way above Larry in the A-list ladder, whereas Maina is on King’nag’I’s celebrity level if not higher. The Classic 105 morning show is designed in such a way that Maina does most of the talking while King’ang’I chips in with little jokes here and there. When Maina is at the helm, King’angi’I is always on fire with his humor superpowers but when it’s Larry at the driving seat, gloom fills the air. It’s like when Maina is away, King’ang’I just decides to relax and wait for his status peer to return.

It is a group that is so rampant in parts of Njiru, Mwiki, Kayole and Ruai in Nairobi. A group that is greatly dreaded because of the manner in which it terrorizes residents. Boys and girls as young as 15 brandish guns, machetes and other crude weapons recklessly, instill great fear in residents as they take away their property and kill others at will.

It is called Gaza Gang.

And this is the reason why the government issued an amnesty to its members to surrender and abandon their nocturnal and dangerous activities, lest they get felled down by the muzzle and the bullet.

The message seems to have sunk well in the areas where this gang operates as evident by the number of the members who came out to beg for forgiveness.

It was a shocking number. Shocking because of its members. They were young boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen with their kids.

Some tried to cover their faces in shame, but the message had reached all of us by the time the last speaker assured the crowd that the government is keeping an eye on their activities.

The shocking turn out tells it all. That we are in a society that is so wanting. That apart from Al Shabaab terrorists, we have a big problem amongst ourselves. We only live by God’s grace.

Here are the shocking photos and a video of the crowd that turned up to surrender to authorities:

A while back, Kenyans were ‘pleased’ to learn the country was manufacturing its own automobiles. Even though some crop of Kenyans weren’t happy about it.

Mobius motors put Kenya on the list of countries manufacturing their own vehicles. The SUV created a fuss in the country the moment news about it broke.

Of course not everybody loved it, some said it was butt ugly. Whether improvements are being made on the vehicle or not it’s not in the public domain.

Now while Kenyans could afford to boast about their unattractive 4X4, Ghanaian-made SUV is giving Western and Asian vehicle manufactures running stomachs.

Kantanka can give Japanese Prado, Landcruiser and other 4X4 a run for their money. It’s classy, it’s beautiful and it’s proudly African.

The SUV has already attracted the attention of Western media. BBC has already written about it. (They are afraid it will be giving their home brand competition.)

Compare and contrast the two African-made 4X4 then you will realize Kenyan designers either have impaired vision or simply they know nothing about 21 century automobile users.

                          Mobius, Kenyan-made 4X4

Last year, BET awards got some serious clap-back for awarding Davido way before the main award ceremony while the ‘non-African’ winners had the cameras on them and the crowd below cheering.

Let’s be honest, the best part about receiving an award is walking up to the podium and receiving your award in front of the whole world.

So this business of the African celebrities being asked to arrive at the pre show early and hastily collecting their awards before the A-List American celebrities arrive for the main show is utter garbage. If you will not award them on the main stage with the rest, then kindly send them the award home, this business of sneaking them around like a mpango wa kando is shameful and offensive .

Kenyans have strong feelings about this said issue judging from  comments such as these:

Jumanne Thomas: In 2009 the Tanzanian emcee on the BET hip hop awards cypher was also denied access to the red carpet even though they had the right ticket… it’s true the African presence can be good on many levels but thus far not everyone involved – including the audence – seems ready to accept African artists as on a same level as the acts they know.

Brendern Denousse: It’s funny how they want to claim their African heritage but don’t even have the respect to treat the African nominees like the other nominees

Moses Qqu: In last years awards there was a Jamaican segment where Dawn Penn, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Beenie man and Elephant man performed. What most people didn’t know is that Patra and Shabba Ranks refused to perform simply because they were denied a chance to walk the red carpet. Seems silly but Shabba elaborated that he was a grammy winner-two times for that matter…he had paid his dues….after all these years why accept to be sneaked through the backdoor.

Clearly Kenyans are not teh only ones feeling some-typa-way about this situation, notable African musicians have taken to social media to slam this move:

Yemi Alade started with this

“By the way…@bet_intl AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY.!!! ..IT IS WRONG TO NOMINATE HUGE AFRICAN STARS AND PUBLICLY TRY TO HUMILIATE AFRICA.WHY ON EARTH IS THE AFRICAN CATEGORY OF THE AWARDS HELD HOURS BEFORE THE “MAIN EVENT? IF AFRICAN ARTISTS ARE NOT WORTHY IN YOUR SIGHT.”

Before Wizkid came with this in a series of tweets:

Lol So I’m hearing BET is mad cos I didn’t come for the pre shows and interviews! Lol.

I love u all for what u do for black entertainment worldwide. I respect the fact u guys do this every year. i know it’s not easy. I understand

But I won’t be attending ur preshows and nominee parties if I’m getting the award at 10am before the main show. Same reason I didn’t come back stage to pick up the award when I won the first time

I don’t post about nominations or talk about awards cos I don’t really care to be honest. Just a bunch of peeps putting together a show!

Performing to my amazing fans and making music is all I care about. #TeamWizkid Love

Before dropping this gem “I love u BET! If I’m in the city when next u doing the award show , I’ll still come to watch. Lol”

Even Fuse ODG was not left behind and let his feelings known:

Truly this is the new Africa and people are tired of being treated like 2nd rate citizens.

Ahem! If Corazon is truly as old as she purports to be, then she got spoilt at a very tender age. Perhaps while she was still a teen!

Kenya’s first socialite lawyer, Corazon Kwamboka is making folks scratch their heads as they struggle to comprehend how she could be so young yet she looks Martha Karua old.

To start with, how old do you think Corazon Kwamboka is? Guys at Ghafla! approximated her to be 28 on the high and 26 minimum.

They were all wrong of course, Corazon is nowhere close past 25. The bootyfull socialite is actually younger than most of you would imagine.

While her ballooning butt and plus size body makes her look like a socialite who is about to retire from the game, Corazon is at her prime.

She claims she was 20 in 2013 so that makes her 22 or 23 in 2015, depending on the month she was pushed out of her mom’s belly.

                                        Corazon when she was 20 in 2013

On Sunday night, Kenyans gathered around their screens for one of the most watched shows “Sunday Live Interview” on Citizen TV.

The guest was the beleaguered Nairobi Governor, Dr. Evans Kidero, the interview however did not go too well as Julie was slammed for being ‘too soft’ on the Governor. In addition Kenyans told her that she wasted the interview by “giggling like a school girl and stroking egos”.

Kenyans were not pulling any punches, but Boniface Mwangi’s comment was the final nail in the coffin was when he called her father-in-law a ‘billionaire thief wanted for money laundering’.

When such accusations are leveled against you a knee-jerk reaction is expected but her reaction might surprise you. Check them out:

News of Lupita Nyong’o’s imminent visit to Kenya hit headlines since last week and as reported early on, the celebrated actress jetted into the country incognito but was spotted at Kempinski where her security reportedly roughed a Standard Group journalist and forced him to delete photos he had taken.

See also: Lupita Nyong’o’s Security Roughs Up Journalist Who Tried To Take Her Photos As She Sneaked Into The Country

But after days of hiding, Lupita has for the first time revealed she is in the country. Her public appearance comes after blogger Robert Alai criticized her for dodging Kenyans like they are leapers.

See also: Robert Alai Mercilessly Roasts Lupita Nyong’o Over Her Nightrunner-Like Behavior

Through her social media accounts, Lupita has posted a photo of herself with the caption Hello Kenya.

But it is not the caption that arrested my attention. No. it is how Lupita appears in this photo. In fact she has stripped off her Hollywood glory and appearance and spotted a local one, appearing like the Lupita we used to know before she left for greener pastures.

The latest photo is filter-free, Lupita dons local attire and looks a typical Kenyan girl. Yes, she is more Kenyan than you would imagine.

This girl has not yet forgotten her roots people. She vividly harbours our beliefs and culture.

Have a look at this:

Hello Kenya! #nofilter#ivoryfree

And the reception she received early today: