GotToVote! a project of Code4Kenya is a concrete example of how open data can contribute towards enhancing the quality of life of ordinary citizens. Code4Kenya was launched in July 2012 by the African Media Initiative (AMI) as a means to revolutionise the way that African journalists and civic activists use data. Code4Kenya has worked so well, that AMI has committed funding towards the core team of developers for a further 12 months. They will evolve into a jAccelerator lab that will help fast track data and digital experiments in African newsrooms, much like they did with GotToVote! GotToVote! (GotToVote.co.ke) came... Continue Reading
Publish Date: Monday, November 26th 2012 |
NAIROBI, 19 November 2012 (IRIN) – Before he knew what was happening, Charles Ngeana, 31, at the scene of Nairobi’s 18 November blast, was struck by a flying sheet of metal. The roof of a packed ‘matatu’ minibus on Route 28 was lifted up and its right side completely blown out. “I ran at first because of the dust,” said Ngeana. “The impact was very big.” Ball-bearings, used to maximize the impact of an explosive device, left nearby vehicles speckled with holes. “It definitely came from inside the matatu,” Ngeana said. It took him a few moments to realize he... Continue Reading
Publish Date: Tuesday, November 20th 2012 |
NAIROBI, 3 October 2012 (IRIN) – A year ago, when Peggy*, 23, became pregnant, her boyfriend abandoned her. Unemployed and already a single mother, she decided to terminate the pregnancy – and she nearly died in the process. “We have a clinic here in Dandora [a slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi] where an old lady helps many women have abortions,” she told IRIN. “I [bled] for two days non-stop.” Her mother took her to Kenyatta National Hospital, where a blood transfusion and other emergency medical interventions saved her life. Peggy knew about contraceptives, but misinformation had convinced her to... Continue Reading
Publish Date: Thursday, October 4th 2012 |
Kenya Tobacco Farmers’ Association joins global campaign to oppose restrictive measures Thursday 13 September 2012, Nairobi, Kenya—The Kenya Tobacco Farmers’ Association (KETOFA) representing 30,000 tobacco farmers, reacted to the publication of new proposals to regulate tobacco farming by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and vowed to rally the government to oppose the measures. CEO of the Kenya Tobacco Farmers’ Association (KETOFA) Joseph Wanguhu said the proposals would have disastrous consequences if they went through. “By suggesting governments phase out tobacco growing, these ideological recommendations put the jobs of more than 30-million farmers — including... Continue Reading
Publish Date: Thursday, September 13th 2012 |
Despite the Nairobi helicopter crash that killed Kenya’s security minister, his deputy, two bodyguards and two pilots, the international security conference he planned for Nairobi in September will go ahead. Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, a mathematics professor and former vice-president of Kenya, was pursuing offensives against the Somali militant group al-Shabab and had planned to stand for the Kenyan presidency. His assistant Joshua Orwa Ojode also died in the crash. Dr Ojoide was working on an initiative to involve African business in tackling new security problems. Both men were prominent supporters of the first African Forum on Business and... Continue Reading
Publish Date: Thursday, June 21st 2012 |
