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22:31
Email Disaster
» For Love and Money Email Disaster
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19:51
Why is there such uncritical acceptance of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's conviction in the US?
» Kenya Imagine Lost in the diplomatic outrage, the headlines and the motives of Libya - which, again, are not implausible - is a simple matter of legal rectitude. Libya may or may not have been responsible for the attack - its previous admissions of responsibility are not to be taken at face value - and Megrahi is probably no angel either, as few people working for the Libyan secret service (or any secret for that matter) are. The problem is one of due process and the irregularities are so glaring that Scotland's own legal review board has called the conviction into question. Convictions can only be secured on available evidence and testimony, which, in this case, are flimsy to threadbare. We mightn't like it (or like Gaddafi's squalid, brutal regime) but it is highly unlikely that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi planted the bomb on Pan Am Flight 103. That the US media is failing to report this side of the story is a dereliction of journalistic duty.
Read more from Oliver Farry who shows the flimsy evidence that was used to convict Megrahi. -
Traffic Management in Nairobi
» Kenya Imagine Yesterday the City Council of Nairobi unveiled a new set of rules to help manage the traffic flow in and out of Nairobi that left me wondering if the council's measures would help with traffic congestion. Planning seems to have taken a back seat when it comes to looking at how some of these decisions impact on the residents of Nairobi, people whom the Council should strive to serve. I say this because, how do you terminate commuter transport into town so far away? What are the options and where are the options?
Read more from Odhiambo Oketch here.
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15:46
Elgon Cup Leg ll : Kenya name team for Uganda
» Rugby in Kenya Elgon Cup Leg ll : Kenya name team for Uganda
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14:06
Big Mac Index: Purchasing Power
» RIBA CAPITAL Big Mac Index: Purchasing Power
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12:36
Should we be Building SMS or Internet Services for Africa?
» White African 
Probably one of my favorite discussions of this trip was entered into after the Uganda Linux User Group (LUG) meeting here in Kampala. It was about whether we should be providing internet protocol (IP) services first, rather than SMS. If cost is the single most important factor for any mobile service aimed at ordinary Africans, then what will it take to move the ball from the SMS court to the IP court? This isn’t just for non-profits to consider, but everyday businesses as well.
Phones that can access data networks have always been in short supply here, so the easy answer has always been to use SMS, just because that’s what people have in their pocket and can use right now. While there are great arguments for either decreasing the costs of SMS, or of moving to IP, the practicality of that was remote due to the costs involved. Either you need a big organization, or a government, who can force the mobile operators to lower their rates on SMS (their cash cow), or you need to have the costs of data-enabled phones to decrease enough that the majority of users switch to them.
There is an argument that says that Grameen’s and Google’s recent deal with MTN Uganda didn’t go far enough in pushing for free, or cheaper, messaging for their new services. Whether you agree or disagree on that matter isn’t relevant if you bypass the argument altogether and provide services via data, which is drastically cheaper, using SMS as the backup.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that for the first time, last year, mobile phones shipped to Africa with data service capabilities outnumbered the simple SMS-only phones that are so prevalent on the continent (Gartner 2009). Of course, this doesn’t mean that there will be a majority of IP accessible phone users immediately, but it is on its way.
Equally important to understand, and a point that increases the momentum of the mobile services over IP argument, is the fact that where there is mobile penetration, there is also available data services. This stands true in Uganda, where MTN says there is 92% GPRS coverage on their network. It’s even true in countries still trying to catch up, like Liberia, where though there are only islands of coverage, that coverage generally comes with data.
Reinier Battenberg, who runs the only local hosting in Uganda, brought up a great point. The fact that Google and Grameen weren’t able to significantly alter MTN’s position on the prices of SMS doesn’t matter. What matters is that Google didn’t offer an IP-based solution for their new Google Trader that they launched. That’s simply unbelievable! It’s doubtful if that type of work would take more than a day for an engineer to implement. Instead of effectively providing an end-run on the strategy around SMS, they just played the same game that the operator wants to play and will win. Something that Google really wants to do is drive people to the web, so why not at least provide web-services for those that can use it? It doesn’t make sense… all around it’s both curious and a questionable strategy.
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11:21
NPCA Results week 6
» Kenya Cricket SUPER DIVISION
Kanbis A beat Stray Lions A by 8 wkts at Eastleigh:
Stray Lions A 139 (Peter Kituku 43, Andrew Mboya 35*, Harish Varsani 2/17, Dhirendra Varsani 2/21)
Kanbis A 140/2 (Nilesh Jesani 54*, Rakep Patel 31*, Darshit Shah 2/54)
Telca beat Swamibapa A by 36 runs at Premier:
Telca 155/6 (Nelson Odhiambo 55*, David Okumu 35*, Shem Obada 3/27, tony Suji 1/29)
Swamibapa A 119 (Tony Suji 29, Mitesh Sanghani 21, Nelson Odhiambo 5/25, Prashant Srinivas 3/39)
Kanbis B beat Sir Ali A by 8 wkts at Sir Ali
Sir Ali A 184 (Aslam Raza 43, Majid ? 27, Rohit ? 5/36, Gopal ? 2/39)
Kanbis 185/2 (Alpesh Bhudia 124, Pritesh Lalji 41, Mujib ? 1/35, Shiraz Ali? 1/50)
Division One:
Nbi Nookers A beat Kongonis Development by 7 wkts:
Kongonis Dev. 60 (Duncan Allen 19, Ibrahim Akello 4/26, Moin ? 3/2)
Nbi Nookers A 64/3 (Kenndy Obuya 26*, Duncan Allen 2/28, Dominic Wesonga 1/28)
Nbi Gymkhana beat Nbi Jafferys by 58 runs at Nbi Gymkhana:
Nbi Gumkhana 227 (Armadeep ? 83, Dil Patel 34, Irfan Karim 2/35, Aasif Karim 2/?)
Nbi Jafferys 169 (Aasif Karim 56, Amirali ? 36, Kirit Trivedi 4/14, Nikhit Shah 4/34)
Swamibapa B beat Ngara by 58 runs at Ngara:
Swamibapa B 106 (Ashish Bhatt 25, Mukhesh Hirani 21, Bharat Pindolia 5/17, Emmanuel Juma 3/26)
Ngara 48 (Karan Patel 13, Narendra V? 5/11, Pankaj Kerai 4/23)
Division Two
Aga Khan beat Simba Union B by 3 wkts at Jafferys:
Simba Union B 251/8 (Hitesh Purohit 120*, Anand ? 38, Michael Kibe 2/20, Sajjad 2/51)
Aga Khan 252/8 (Ayaz Premji 57*, Harshit Jessani 47, Sunny ? 4/60, Harsh ? 1/22)
Stray Lions B beat Goan Institute A by 7 wkts at Peponi:
Goan Institute A 153 (Charles ? 41, Ritesh P? 32, Manish ? 4/19, Anand ? 2/29)
Stray Lions B 156/3 (Altaf ? 48*, Chirag Sheth 41*, Saleem Cockar 2/26, Charles ? 1/23)
Sir Ali B beat Qutbis by 3 wkts at Seifee Park:
Qutbis 310/7 (Huzeifa Namji 89, Murtaza M? 51, Mahmood ? 2/64, Ali ? 1/38)
Sir Ali B 311/7 (Imran ? 56, Zeeshan ? 54, Murtaza Z? 2/48, Ibrahim T? 1/19)
Division Three
Goan Institute B beat Ruaraka B by 2 wkts:
Ruaraka B 149 (Dhanji ? 72, Yassin ? 5/21, Gurvinder ? 2/30)
Goan Institute B 154/8 (Yassin ? 35*, Salim Ramji 28, Dhanji ? 3/24, Pramod ? 2/21)
Womens XI beat Oshwal XI by 19 runs at Highridge:
Womens XI 155 (Perlene Omamo 50*, Dun Okinyo 25, Josphat Irungu 3/17, Keter Gudka 2/14)
Oshwal XI 136 (Josphat Irungu 32, Bhupen? 24, Dun Okinyo 3/26, Belinda 3/64)
Nbi Nookers B: BYEBecome a fan of Kenya Cricket.com on facebook: [www.facebook.com]
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KENYA RUGBY : CENSUS REQUIRED ON KENYA RUGBY
» Rugby in Kenya KENYA RUGBY : CENSUS REQUIRED ON KENYA RUGBY
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8:24
Free Wi-Fi hotspot locator in Nairobi
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG The other day someone commented on my facebook status that Kenyans love free things, just because I suggested that the big hotels should emulate high level restaurants and give free wi fi.
I could not answer the guy because I knew he would engage me in a long winding argument over why I should pay for internet. I would have told this guy how in Bangkok, you can catch free internet virtually everywhere including one provided by the city council. But I thought I should just shut up.
Forget about free wi fi and think of the many times you have tried to use the GPRS and it just failed because of congestion within the city; and it is the same old story.
Then I met this guy from DataDyne and we got into the discussion of where he could get free wi fi, I noticed that he needed more hotspots beyond Java upperhill and fairview. He actually suggested that this could be valuable info for tourists and other business visitors as well as those of us who love free stuff.
So, we can count down the places I know.
If you are in Westlands,
Alan Bobbe's Bistro at Andrews Apartments- Rhapta Road
For me, the Andrews Wi fi is the most stable, of course the place is very nice and Alan Bobbe's offers gatronomic cuisine which is pricy too. The place is quiet and I think they have too much bandwidth, but am not saying they should strangle it (Kunyonga).
If you have a free afternoon and would like a treat of good food and flawless internet, Andrews is the place. www.andrews.co.ke
Sarit Center
Dormans coffee house
This is on the basement on the extreme corner from Java or safaricom advantage customer care.
This wireless is password protected but you can always set you laptop to remember the network and you don't have to keep entering the password. It is super fast and stable, except in the late afternoon, when you have solar outage; common is satellite connections.
Dormans staff are basically nice and will always welcome you with a smile even when they think you are just there because of the free wi fi. With time, you also get to know the regular customers who are always there with their laptops, and with time, you start saying hi to each other and behaving like you actually know each other.
By the way, Dormans serves very nice Cafe Mocha.
Rating- ****
Java Coffee house
This is next to Safaruco customer care on the basement. The wireless is open to anyone, so your info can be susceptible to preying eyes and other malicious people, that is if you have super sensitive data.
The wi fi used to be very nice and stable but for the last three months, either they reduced the bandwidth or reconfigured their network. The network has IP address issues and at times some people access the internet and others can not.
It is frustrating when you can see others surfing and there is no way in for you. You start asking the waiters and they say the person incharge is away, which is usually a lie or a way of telling you to get off their back.
This has been a constant problem that I could see a couple of other tourists migrated to Dormans where the network is stable.
Besides, Java switche off the wi fi at about 12.30 to 2.30 to keep off idlers and serve serious spenders, which makes commercial sense but woe unto you if you were in the middle of the sentence or trying to attach a large document. Dormans is open through out.
Rating **
Westgate Shopping mall.
There are Java and Dormans Coffee houses with internet and the network is the same as above.
There is also the network known as Westgate, which is not protected but is usually up and down.
In the Central Business District
None of the Java or Dormans Coffee houses in town give free internet, for obvious reasons.
The Mug- Kaunda Street
This is probably the most stable because it does not keep going down and is not password protected.
Rating ***
Lifestyle Lounge- Monrovia street, opposite Nakumatt Lifestyle
This is bottom of the crap, can not stay up for five minutes and when it goes away, its off for about 20 minutes.
If you can, avoid this place, only for emergency internet usage.
Rating *
Ngong Road
Java Upperhill
Java Junction
Dormans Junction
I am planning to use Google maps for easier location but if you have other places you have visited and experienced their Wi fi, please leave a comment and will benefit all the others interested. -
Why Equity Bank should rethink e-banking
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG There is no doubt that Equity bank revolutionized banking and the way customers are treated. It made ordinary men and women believe that they can own bank accounts and they do not need special permission to talk to the manager.
I think it also came at a good time when people wanted hassle-free loans. For many of us who fear giving matrimonial title deeds as collateral, Equity said that even the chicken and the cows qualified as collateral.
But now the bank has moved into the more sophisticated area of e-banking. Many Kenyan banks misunderstand or mislead us to believe that receiving SMS alerts translates to e-banking.
So, being the member I am, I finally got tired of queuing for an hour or taking time to dash to the bank when I can get the same service on the internet. So I applied for e-banking services and filled the form.
The strange part is that after two months, Equity had deducted the annual fee for e-banking but I could not access the service. They had not sent me the password. By the way, the e-banking am talking about is just the one that allows you to check balances online and monitor transactions, I am hoping I will be able to do that.
After making trips to the bank to check on it, it has left me bitter, wondering why Equity is bothering about sophisticated services it can not deliver.
I think it is only fair if the bank stops struggling to offer what it can't. For the other basic services, the bank has no problem, but for e-banking, I guess the bank should leave it out.
I guess they should say like Safaricom; if you are frustrated, just move on to the next provider!
Ends
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7:21
The CEO Janitor
» Startups in Kenya I’m a self confessed holiday hater, but today as I still wait to be counted I am grateful for this holiday. Besides dreaming up some crazy ‘tribe’ which I’ll tell the enumerators I belong to (I’m leaning towards Kryptonian) I get a chance to take a breather.
You see the last two years have been a non-stop 24/7 marathon to keep ahead of an economy battered by the combined effects of post-election violence and a global economic recession. Although 2009 has had its upsides compared to last year, the scarcity of food, electricity, and water continue to take their toll on business. One can even say that it’s been stressful. Stress however is not necessarily a bad thing, like Jon Voight acting as a bad guy in 24 says “stress is the fertilizer of creativity”.
Indeed I have had to be extremely creative in 2009 to ensure that my business continues to be relevant in the face of a depressed economy and with all this rationing. By forging strong partnerships with other entrepreneurs I am part of formAKenyanCompany.com the online business registration service and AFRI Business Development Consulting, the UK firm that specializes in supporting SMEs. The idea behind these two businesses, together with Genius Executive Centre is to provide an end-to-end business solution for SMEs. An entrepreneur who wants to start a business needs to get it registered and comply with tax obligations, formAKenyanCompany.com takes care of that. He will need a place to operate from, meet clients, browse his email, and generally call his workplace – Genius Executive Centre can do all that. His business will need support in planning, securing financial assistance, netting clients, retaining clients, promoting its products, recruiting staff and other activities necessary to ensure the business becomes successful, AFRI handles that.
The businesses are converging nicely and the synergy is great but the toll on Harry has been extreme. It’s hard enough starting up and running one business, but to do this for three has required some super-human effort (maybe that’s why I’m thinking of calling myself Kryptonian). In addition I’ve had to ensure that SoftLaw my legal publishing company; Genius Forex, the currency trading advisory firm; and BetonStocks, the online betting/trading service don’t wither away and die from neglect. I’ve had to do all this while I nurture ShenZen Cars my low-cost internet motor-vehicle sales company and keep experimenting with other businesses.
All this takes me back to 2004, before SoftLaw took off. My partner and I were negotiating with Kenya’s then biggest company, East African Breweries Ltd to take up our SoftLaw Citator, Laws of Kenya software. EABL being an international company had a raft of procedures and one of them was that the procurement manager required to visit our premises before any purchase could be made. We knew that clinching EABL as a client would pay dividends with future prospects and we were determined to make a good impression.
At that time our ‘office’ was located at a friend’s rarely used cyber café which also served as a store for his structured cabling and network administration business. This meant that it was choked full of cables, boxes of cables, networking equipment and a whole lot of other of computer equipment. A healthy layer of dust covered most of these items, and only because we had no walk in clients were we comfortable enough to put up with this.
With the impending visit of our VIP prospect, we knew that this had to change. We hired one of the building’s cleaners to pass his broom over the place after his normal work hours. As CEOs, naturally we could not remain in the office with all the sweeping and the dust, and strolled to the nearest café to enjoy a cup of coffee. At around 7:00 pm we returned to the office expecting to find it sparkling clean. We were instead shocked to find that the cleaner had decided the 200 bob we had promised him did not justify the work and was AWOL.
Knowing that the future of this deal and our business was in our hands we put those hands to work. It was slightly past midnight when after plenty of sweeping, heavy moving, mopping, window cleaning and arranging that the place finally looked like an office. The next day the procurement manager came and despite having had our power disconnected early that morning for non-payment (story for another day), he was satisfied enough to give us business.
It is a fact that when starting your business you must be ready to take up several roles to ensure that you get the job done and the business makes that sale. While I would not recommend running several simultaneous businesses to anyone as a business strategy, it is what I love doing and I wouldn’t change it for the world. There are disadvantages to this besides the obvious fatigue and none is more readily manifest than having to do several jobs simultaneously. But if you do decide to start and run your own business even if its only one be ready to be the janitor as well as the CEO.
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6:30
Interview with Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o
» Black Looks Well worth taking the time to listen. There are only two tribes in Kenya [Africa], the Haves and the Have Nots I look at Kenya, at Africa through the eyes of ordinary person. I measure development not from the view point of those who are at the top of the mountain but from the standpoint [...] -
Awakening 1: 49 Mean Ness Street
» Black Looks 49 Mean Ness Street I woke up. Opened the door. Shut the door and there they were. The beggars feasting on the remains me the day. Blind legless armless lepers and assorted deformities assaulted my walled enclave of iron. 49 Mean Ness street had become a beggars banquet. Beggars eating, drinking, laughing, dancing, loving. Blind looked at me and spat, I was [...]
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Kenya Ladies record historic first league win
» Kenya Cricket Kenya Women’s XI registered their first victory in the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association League with a win over hosts Oshwal on Sunday. A brilliant batting display by Perlyne Omamo and good bowling spells from Belinda Maska and Mercyline Adhiambo contributed heavily to the Women XI first win since being incorporated in the league last year to play the men’s sides.
The three gave the side what they had been yearning for and led their team to 19 runs win in the match played at Highride Primary School grounds.
Omamo batted the entire inning - 49 overs and managed to score her maiden half century as the Women XI put on 155 runs -their highest score in the league. She put on a 15 runs opening stand with Sarah Bhakita (2) before Bhakita was caught off Jay Nagda. Margaret Banja (8) added 38 with Omamo to get the scores to 53 before a third wicket stand with Maska added nine. Dun Okinyo, the team coach, scored a quick 25 and ensured the Women XI got their first hundred of the season. Okinyo’s departure- bowled by Hitesh Ngoa paved way to Emily Ruto who added 9 as Women XI surged on to their biggest total so far in the league.
Adhiambo (0), Peris Adhiambo (0), Mary Belle (3) lost their wickets in quick succession before Sylvia followed on with the third duck of the inning. Their previous score in the league last year was 132 against the same side. Omamo’s 50 not out included five boundaries.
Omamo's half century was the third for the Women team after the unbeaten 187 and 86 by Bhakita and Ruto respectively in their record win over Rwanda last year in the East and Central Africa Women Championships.
Josphat Irungu was the toast of Oshwal bowling with three wickets for 17 runs as the innings came to an end with an over to play.
Irungu started the chase with a bang putting on 32 runs in three overs but that came to a halt when he edged to Bhakita off Maska. Bhakita keeping wicket in the absense of Aimee Maria then stumped Hiten Jakhari with the total on 51 for two before Ruto held a low catch at deep mid wicket to get out danger man Nagda for 15 giving Maska her third wicket. While Maska was getting the wickets, Adhiambo was beating the batters with her swing and she was rewarded when she clean bowled captain Mitesh Dephia for nine with the score on 82.
Okinyo got the fifth wicket when Mehul Ghala was caught by Ruth Mwihaki for naught with 69 runs needed for victory. Adhiambo got her second and biggest wicket in her seventh over when she had Mehul Gala caught by Okinyo for naught with scores on 92. Okinyo added the seventh wicket before Mwihaki got two more wickets including tapping Pradeep Patel on 17. Ketul Gudka (21) and Dhiren Bid put on a 20 run stand for the last wicket before Bhakita stumped Gudka for 21 to the jubilation of the team.
Captain Emily Ruto attributed the win to hard work on the field and ability to follow the laid game plan.
“The initial idea was for us to bat all the overs. This worked out well and as a result we were able to get a defendable score. When it came to bowling the plan was again bowl on the stump and let them make the mistake. They made the mistake and we carried the day,”
“Omamo’s inning was actually something that we will remember every time we talk about the win and it was also good for her as she has realized she can bat well on a good day. Her presence in the crease made us strong and I believe if we continue working like this we will be a better team by the end of the season,” she said.
The team's next match is against leaders Parklands and Ruto said the plan will not change.
“Why change?. We will not do anything different from what we did today. It will be for them to change their plans not us. Our plans will be to bowl on the stumps and try and bat all the overs,” she said.Become a fan of Kenya Cricket.com on facebook: [www.facebook.com]
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SA Feminists speak on Caster Semenya, sex tests and gender mix
» Black Looks Caster Semenya and – the ‘elephant in the room’ We write in response to the controversy surrounding the 800 m women’s world running champion, Caster Semenya and the flurry of articles surrounding this sad saga. Some of those championing Caster’s cause accuse those wanting to sex-test Caster of imperialism and racism (as well as sexism). Others [...]
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2:18
What has changed?
» The African Accent I was unpacking curios (twelve years later) that my family brought from Kenya when I came across this Daily Nation print. It is dated Wednesday December 10, 1997. Nineteen days before elections.
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