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The government has ordered the immediate blocking of 44 websites in the country over content pirating.

The High Court sitting in Nairobi on Thursday, June 23, through Justice Wilfrida Okwany, ordered Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in collaboration with the government to immediately block the 44 streaming websites.

Justice Okwany noted that the websites were flagged for infringing on copyrighted materials.

The ruling will majorly affect soccer fans across the country and other consumers of pirated content through sites that have not been authorized to operate in the country or rebroadcast content.
Justice Okwany explained that Internet Service Providers have failed on their part to exercise their mandate in complying with the takedown notice of websites infringing on copyrighted materials.

Among those shortlisted are popular websites that pop up during live matches on different social media platforms, allowing those with access to the internet to watch shows and games for free.

Following the ruling, some of the internet service providers vowed to block the blacklisted websites within 72 hours.

“A person whose rights have been infringed by content to which access is being offered by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) may request by way of a takedown notice that the ISP removes the infringing content,” the Copyright Act stipulates.
According to players in the industry, the landmark ruling will allow content creators to earn from their work.

“The Kenyan courts have sent a message to the rest of the world that we respect the right of content creators to earn a living from their work,” one of the stakeholders stated.

Here are the websites set to be blocked:

1. Totalsportek 2. ronaldo7 3. stream 4. cr7ripple 5. vipleague 6. livesoccertv 7. livesport 8. soccer-live stream 9. LiveTV 10. vipbox live 11. sportnews 12. jokerlivestream 13. Cricfree 14. Fullmatchesandshows 15. Vipboxtv 16. liveharleyquinnwidget 17. Messistream 18. Yalla-shoot 19. HD streams 20. Cdn livetvcdn 21. Firstsrowsports 22. Livefootballol 23. Miradetodo 24. Livestream 25.Tvball7 26. Skytivi 27. Freeintertv 28. Vipstand 29. Extremotvplay 30. Stream2watch 31. Oeb 32. Ishunter 33. Myfeed2all 34. Barcelona stream 35. sport stream 36. Cricfree 37. Indiostv 38. Sport365 live 39. Kora-online TV 40. Stream woop 41. Sportzonline 42. Sportv 43. Rojadirecta 44. Cricsports

IBL Group, the largest conglomerate in Mauritius, is the lead investor of a consortium that has signed an agreement to acquire a significant minority stake in Naivas International (Mauritius), with a private equity firm Amethis exiting its investment.

Naivas International owns 100% of the shares of Naivas Limited, a leading supermarket chain in Kenya. IBL’s partners in the consortium are Proparco, a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and DEG, a subsidiary of German KfW Group. This agreement is subject to regulatory approvals.

The investment in Naivas International is the biggest in IBL’s history. IBL also has significant expertise in the retail sector, operating the leading supermarket chain in Mauritius, Winners.

“This is an exciting partnership by our shareholders that will drive us to the next phase of growth. We appreciate the immense knowledge and capacity in the retail industry that IBL brings to the table”, said David Kimani, Managing Director of Naivas. He further added, “This transaction is testament to the hard work by Naivas’ management and shareholders of having put in place strong governance and controls, enabling the business to grow sustainably to become one of the leading retailers in the region.”

“I am proud that our partnership with the shareholders of Naivas International marks IBL Group’s first investment as part of our expansion in East Africa. This is a symbolic move for us. This family business created in 1990 is an example of a success story that has continued to grow despite the pandemic thanks to its strong business model. With 84

outlets in 20 cities and towns across Kenya, it has put modern grocery retail within

everyone’s reach. Naivas also contributes to the Kenyan economy, notably by employing over 8,000 people. IBL Group has expertise in the retail sector with our chain supermarket Winners – a flagship of the Mauritian economy.” said Arnaud Lagesse, IBL Group CEO.

Andreas von Paleske, Head of Strategy at Naivas commented, “Amethis invested in Naivas International in 2020, and their strength in partnering with family-owned businesses has led to a demonstrable step-up in governance and growth. Amethis sale of its stake in Naivas International represents the successful culmination of its partnership with the business. We are now thrilled to embark on the next phase of this journey and welcome an exciting partnership with IBL.”

Frank-Astère Ndiyo Butoyi, Investment Director at Amethis, added “We are proud to have been in the Kenyan retail landscape and supported a very successful Kenyan business who understands best the Kenyan consumer. As we exit our investment, we wish IBL and the Naivas International team the best for the future”.

Naivas International and Amethis were advised by Bowmans, Ernst and Young, and Rothschild & Co. The IBL consortium was advised by Benoit Chambers, Kaplan & Stratton, and PwC. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Wanjengi Coffee Factory: Murang’a Coffee Cooperatives will benefit from a benchmarking program with successful cooperatives in Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties. This program will see the 44 coffee cooperatives in Murang’a benefit from mentor cooperatives, fully funded by Irungu Nyakera Foundation, in collaboration with “Coffee Campus”, a learning platform that organizes learning programs for the coffee sector, and supported by Kenya Coffee & Tea Lobby.

The benchmarking program dubbed “ Kahawa Boost “ is focused on helping Muranga County reclaim its national position as a leading coffee producing county, that can contribute over Ksh.10 billion to the county.

The program will see farmers increase production per tree to at least 10 Kilos, and grow cooperative total cherry volumes to at least 1 million kilos. The program launched at Wanjengi Coffee Factory to continue through the week to benefit, Wahundura, SabaSaba, Kinogerama, Kabati, Njora, and, Kanyenyaini coffee cooperatives in Muranga County.

The cooperatives will also learn alternative income generation options, learn factory management and agronomy best practices, and network with successful factories. Irungu Nyakera Foundation has been supporting coffee cooperatives in Muranga County with metallic drying beds and seedlings in preparation for the growth of coffee production. The program targeting 144 coffee factories was launched in November 2021 and has already benefitted 48 factories across the county.

The Kenya Coffee & Tea lobby urges the fast-tracking of the coffee sector reforms, which will remove the conflict of interest and lack of governance in the sector, assure farmers of guaranteed minimum returns, streamline the running of coffee cooperatives and increase the investment in the coffee sector by National and County Government.

The government is working on improving dairy cattle breeds for increased milk production through the development ofthof thee of thofa sustainable heifer delivery model that is targeting smallholder dairy farmers.

Through the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), the government is racing against time to reintroduce and increase the population of superior Sahiwal Cattle in Kenya after it became apparent that the country is on the verge of losing the breed.

Sahiwal cattle in Kenya are descendants of some 60 bulls and 12 cows imported between 1939 n’ 1963 and KALRO is one of the leading world’s custodians of Sahiwal, a dual-purpose (meat and milk) breed that is highly tolerant to semi-arid and arid conditions.

KALRO, Director General Dr. Eliud Kireger says that the government through National Research Fund (NRF) has funded KALRO for a three-year program to restock the superior breed of Sahiwal for the Maasai community in Transmara South, Narok County through a community-based genetic improvement and multiple

“Despite the importance of Sahiwal cattle, its’ production is affected by several challenges including acute unavailability of quality climate-resilient climate-resilient breeding stock, inbreeding which leads to loss of genetic diversity and low .productivity,” Dr. Kireger said.

Currently, Dr. Kireger noted that accessing the right Sahiwal heifers and bulls at affordable prices has been the worst nightmare for many farmers, especially Maasai pastoralists across the country who heavily rely on Sahiwal genetic resources for their livelihood.

He added that these trends, if unchecked, will permanently lock Sahiwal farmers into abject poverty. “Currently, it is a race against time for the research team to address the whole challenge of access to superior Sahiwal top genetics in Kenya,” he said but added that so far, the KALRO-led program has assisted the community to produce 309 superior Sahiwal AI calves (males and females) which were distributed among members of community-base the d breeding scheme in Transmara.

He noted that 1,234 Sahiwal cows and bulls have been registered with Kenya Stud Book into either foundation or pure-bred classes since the start of the three-year program. “The registered animals have been issued with certificates by the Kenya Livestock Breeders Association and their market price has increased threefold,” Dr. Kireger said.

He explained that through the program 65 farmers and extension personnel have also been trained on good Sahiwal cattle management practices while nine elite and progressive Sahiwal cattle farmers have been exposed to ARTs training.

To achieve effective population and genetic diversity for Sahiwal cattle, the Director-General said that the program targets to mobilize the whole community including women for the cause of genetic improvement and multiplication of Sahiwal genetics.

KALRO, Dr. Kireger said hopes to replicate the program in other parts of the country to boost Sahiwal cattle production adding that by the end of the program., it is expected that there will also be an increased Sahiwal cattle resilience, and therefore, translating to higher production with a surplus for sale and farmers enabled to secure their food and nutrition security.

Dr. Samuel Mbuku, a livestock breeder and the principal investigator in the project and leading scientists from Veterinary Research Institute in the program said the multiplication program involves the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs), specifically estrus synchronization and Artificial Insemination (AI) to enable and increase the rate of genetic progress, faster multiplication, and distribution of top most proven Sahiwal genetics among farmers.

“The main challenge for Sahiwal cattle is access to the breeding stock, breeding males and females and we found out that many farmers were forced to queue for this breed at KALRO Naivasha and this was not sustainable”, he said.

He noted this brought about a conscious decision to have a multiplication program which was to accelerate the access of the genetic material by farmers in the Narok County

“Broadly, we wanted to increase milk yield output in this area, we wanted to have many breeding animals, especially males and in that way look at lowering the cost of the animals in terms of purchasing from Naivasha. Now farmers are no longer going there to look for the genotypes since they can get them locally”, Dr. Mbuku said

He noted that since they kicked off the program, by training the villagers who were in 12 clusters, they have over 170 bulls locally with farmer groups in the Lolgorian division in Transmara where the appetite for the breed was very high and the genetic material is circulating in the area.

Jameson Olenagida, a livestock farmer from the Maa community said “we used to keep the kienyeji cows but since the introduction of the Sahiwal heifers, the community has upgraded and slowly by slowly embraced the new breed.”

“We have realized it has a lot of benefits, giving us both milk, meat, and money. Initially, we used to travel to Naivasha to buy ordinary cows and could use almost up to Sh 270,000 for buying and also transporting with the lorries experiencing a lot of problems,” he explained.

Wilson Kipeno, the community coordinator said once the farmers got training from KALRO on the AI technology, they are moving away from the ordinary cow keeping to a better one which is confined.

David Mosingo, another farmer said initially they were not aware of the breeds they were keeping and they kept on experiencing the challenge of ticks and water. “Sahiwal breed is resistant, they grow quickly and are good for any climate”, he said

Noonkuta Sampei said that when she had the ordinary cows, she would milk many to get enough milk but for the Sahiwal breed, she only has to milk a few of them to get enough. The Sahiwal is one of the best dairy breeds. It is tick-resistant, heat-tolerant, and noted for its high resistance to parasites, both internal and external.

Cows average 2270 kg of milk during lactation and much higher milk yields have been recorded. Its bull weighs about 600kg, twice the average weight of local breeds with a price of a calf aged around one year going for up to Sh40, 000

The Sahiwal cattle breed in Kenya had been reported to have a decreasing effective population size and increasing level and rate of inbreeding which implies declining genetic variability hence the 3-year project funded by NRF dubbed “the Smallholder Farmers Access to Improved Cattle Genetics in Kenya: An Accelerated Dairy Heifers Delivery Model Utilizing Reproductive Technologies”.

Twitter has a segment for trends. When something trends that’s to rings a bell in your mind that something is happening somewhere.

Mandera has been among the counties hardest hit by the brutal effects of drought due to climate change. The region is so dry that some children born two years ago have never witnessed torrential rain which has been experienced in various parts of the country.

But despite the harsh weather that has wiped out most vegetation and led to emaciated livestock, one farmer boasts a lush farm, deep in the ‘desert’ land. With shrubs and thorny vegetation, only one farm is noticeable from far.

Noor Adan Mohammed, who has no formal education, runs an admirable green wonder along River Dauwa flowing from the Ethiopian highlands across the common border with Ethiopia. So green is his farm, the images of banana plantations would pass for a plantation in Gusiiland or Meru.

His vast farm is dotted with pawpaw, passion fruits, grafted oranges, lemons, mangoes, and watermelons at various stages of growth. While his neighbors wait for handouts from NGOs and the county government, he has become a food supplier in his village and beyond. Indeed, he is setting the pace for locals, who still hold the mentality that only livestock can thrive in the area.

“I have proven that farming done the right way brings returns. I am rewriting the story of Mandera by proving to locals that crops can do well here if good husbandry is practiced,” says Hassan who started the venture eight years ago.

With water being the biggest headache for herders, he sources his irrigation water from River Data which forms the natural border between Kenya and Ethiopia. His farm stretches some 16.7 acres and on it stands 1,000 pawpaw-fruit trees, some 746 oranges trees among other fruits So what solutions does he use to outsmart dry weather?

First, he rotates his crops from nuts to onions so that the farm can have a healing period. This he says, helps to naturally keep diseases at bay and rejuvenate the soil. He does pruning at the right time to control diseases and optimal growth.

Additionally, he practices good tillage and does mulching to maintain soil moisture. “In an arid area like Mandera evaporation is common so when you water your crops, even before the roots abord it, it has already evaporated. But when you put mulch over the soil like a plastic one or grass, water is retained in the soil,” he explains.

Crop rotation also helps Hassan to guard against vicious weeds that rob the main crops of nutrients and water, leading to stunted growth. “Manure is more useful than artificial fertilizers, that is how I keep my farm organic,” he points out.

For the stubborn fungal, viral, and bacterial infections he sprays to save his fruit trees. Noor is such a stickler for best practice rules, his farm has gotten rave reviews from renowned figures in the area including Governor Ali Roba and Mandera County Director of Agriculture, Bernard Ogutu. The farm is often used as a demonstration site.

“He is a good farmer who follows the rule book. We are supporting him with extension services and basic infrastructure like water tanks to take his farming to the next level,” says Mr. Ogutu. Given that he is among the few who farm in a large pastoralist community, Ogutu says the county agriculture officials always visit his farm to guide him through the process.

“There were a few misses like spacing, and pruning at the right time. He needs to reinvent the farm with drip irrigation to help cut costs,” says Ogutu. Noor also grows maize for fodder for his animals.

Because he is the only farmer in his village, the market is not an issue. “There is never a market glut here. I sell at the farm gate and I incur no transport costs.”

Having grown pawpaws for years and is the main crop on the farm, he has advised those looking to grow them, “Pawpaws do well in warm areas but must be sheltered from strong winds because stems and roots are not very strong. Irrigation also helps flowers guard against abortion,” Noor says.

He adds: “Soils must be well-drained and in flood-prone areas ensure there is no water logging or it will kill crops within days. Pawpaw roots are very sensitive to water. The rest is just normal weeding to guard against stunted growth.”

But his success is not without challenges. He pumps water three days for up to 28 hours to serve the entire farm. “I use 56 liters of fuel every pumping session costing me Sh56, 000 to keep the plants alive, or else you would have to wait for Allah to send the rains to Mandera,” Hassan says jokingly.

Weighed down by fuel costs, he is thinking about solar solutions. “The cost of installation is Sh5.8million. I am shopping for cheaper working solutions,” Noor says. He has also suffered crop failure.

“Sometime back, I planted about 3,000 grafted oranges and only 750 survived. Some insects attack my fruits when they are about one meter tall. It can be discouraging but you have to hang in there as a farmer.” He has sought the help of county officials to deal with the issue.

“I always report to the county officials when I face a nagging problem. It is good to report the problem early enough so that the remedy can work,” Hassan advises. He says he settled on grafted oranges for several reasons.

“Grafted oranges take a shorter period to mature. Instead of seven years, fruition starts after three to four years.” Grafting also helps make citrus fruits disease resistant and adapt to hot dry weather.

He also intercrops cereals and legumes to keep weeds away. Another challenge is the waiting period.

“There is a long waiting period after investing your money in the farms. You stay up to three years waiting for pioneer fruits. You have to tend to the trees. A father of 23 children is tired of selling oranges and mangoes for more or less the same price each year.

He is targeting the cottage industry to do value addition to his produce. “The future is in value addition and embracing technology that is the way I intend to go in the coming years.”

L’Oréal Paris, one of the world’s biggest beauty brands has officially launched into the Kenyan market as it expands its footprint in the beauty market with the introduction of a wide range of products specifically catered t the Kenyan market. L’Oréal which prides itself as pioneering in beauty science, Parisian and a feminine brand that empowers women through its famous slogan “Because you’re worth it,” says rising customer demand for luxury but affordable beauty and personal care products is behind its entry into Kenya to better meet the requirements of the market and grasp local opportunities.

“L’Oréal Paris brings to the market quality, effectiveness, and innovation in a country with a growing consumer base but still a huge number of potential consumers that largely remain untapped,” said L’Oréal East Africa Managing Director Serge Sacre.

The brand has announced the availability of its top-rated Revitalift Filler Range, targeting different skin types. The product has been developed to protect users’ skin against sun damage and fine lines while promoting a healthy and youthful glow. L’Oréal is banking on its research and development center to come up with products according to local preferences. L’Oréal currently invests 4% of its revenue in research and development.

Sacre added the market has the potential to move from its current 30% penetration to a value of a billion dollars in five years from its current estimated value of $200 million.

L’Oréal has a presence in 140 countries and over 85,400 employees.

The global anti-aging products market size valued at $ 40.49 billion in 2020 is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4% from 2021 to $ 60.26 billion by 2028, according to a report by research firm, Grandsview.

Growing awareness among consumers on age-related skin problems such as fine lines, wrinkles, and dullness of skin, coupled with an increasing propensity to spend on products that help them to proclaim their skin youthfulness, the research firm said will drive the market demand throughout the forecast period.

The Nairobi launch brought together industry experts including scientists, dermatologists, distributors, and celebrities.

About L’Oréal

For over 110 years, L’Oréal, the world’s leading beauty player, has devoted itself to one thing only: fulfilling the beauty aspirations of consumers around the world. L’Oréal is the manufacturer of Kenya’s Number 1 body lotion Nice & Lovely. Our purpose, to create the beauty that moves the world, defines our approach to beauty as inclusive, ethical, generous, and committed to social and environmental sustainability.

With our broad portfolio of 35 international brands and ambitious sustainability commitments in our L’Oréal for the Future program, we offer every person around the world the best in terms of quality, efficacy, safety, sincerity, and responsibility, while celebrating beauty in its infinite plurality.

With 85,400 committed employees, a balanced geographical footprint, and sales across all distribution networks (e-commerce, mass market, department stores, pharmacies, hair salons, branded and travel retail), in 2021 the Group generated sales amounting to 32.28 billion euros.

With 20 research centers across 11 countries around the world and a dedicated Research and Innovation team of over 4,000 scientists and 3,000 tech professionals, L’Oréal is focused on inventing the future of beauty and becoming a Beauty Tech powerhouse.

More information on https://www.loreal.com/en/mediaroom