Category: Business Daily

SafariLink Aviation has expanded its fleet with a new Cessna Grand Caravan EX aircraft, betting on sustained growth in Kenya’s tourism sector and rising demand for flights to the country’s premier safari destinations.

The new aircraft brings the airline’s fleet to 17, comprising 12 Cessna Grand Caravans and five Dash 8 aircraft, strengthening the carrier’s capacity on domestic safari routes.

The airline said the additional aircraft will improve scheduling flexibility, enhance operational capacity and support growing passenger demand.

“This latest fleet addition reflects our continued investment in growth and our commitment to providing dependable air transport services across our network. The Cessna Grand Caravan has proven to be an exceptional aircraft for serving regional and remote destinations, and the arrival of 5Y-SLS further reinforces our ability to meet increasing customer demand while supporting connectivity and economic development,” said SafariLink Chief Executive Alex Avedi.

The expansion comes as Kenya continues to record robust growth in international tourist arrivals, boosting demand for domestic air travel to wildlife destinations.

Mr Avedi told the Business Daily that the airline’s latest investment is primarily aimed at increasing capacity on its safari network, where demand has remained strong.

“This is to augment capacity on our safari routes. We’re simply adding capacity to meet growing demand,” he said.

He attributed the fleet expansion to the sustained recovery and growth of Kenya’s tourism industry.

“There’s been strong tourism growth in Kenya over the last three years,” Mr Avedi said.

According to the airline, the additional Caravan EX will support flights to key destinations, including the Maasai Mara and Amboseli. It will also serve the recently launched routes linking the Maasai Mara with Mombasa and Diani via Ukunda Airstrip.

The CEO noted that the Maasai Mara remains the busiest safari destination on the airline’s network.

The High Court has blocked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from investigating Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) over commodity loan arrangements involving two tea factories, ruling that the anti-graft watchdog has no role in investigating private entities.

Justice William Musyoka said KTDA is a private entity and that the EACC lacked jurisdiction to investigate the contested commercial transactions because they did not involve public officers, public funds, public resources or bribery.

At the centre of the legal dispute was the EACC’s March 31, 2026 notice requiring KTDA Management Services, KTDA Holdings and acting Chief Executive Francis Miano to surrender documents on commodity loan facilities involving Michimikuru Tea Factory in Meru and Litein Tea Factory in Kericho. The commission warned that failure to comply would attract criminal sanctions.

But the court quashed the notice and barred the commission from pursuing the investigation in its current form.

“If the allegations of corruption do not relate to bribery, but to other forms of corruption, then the respondent would have no mandate to conduct an investigation into such, as that would fall under the mandate of the police, specifically the Directorate of Criminal Investigations,” Justice Musyoka said.

KTDA is owned by more than 600,000 smallholder tea farmers across 16 tea-growing counties. The farmers own 54 tea companies and more than 71 factories managed by KTDA subsidiaries, making the agency the country’s largest manager of smallholder tea processing and marketing operations.

Tea remains one of Kenya’s leading foreign exchange earners. There is long-running debate over whether the farmer-owned tea agency should be treated as a private or public body.

The court also noted there was nothing preventing the DCI from handling the matter. KTDA had told the court that the DCI was already investigating the disputed commodity loan arrangements and should be allowed to continue with its inquiry without interference from the EACC.

The dispute began in February when the EACC wrote to KTDA seeking original documents relating to commodity loans advanced to the two factories during the 2022/23 and 2024/25 financial years.

The commission said the documents were needed to investigate alleged corruption in the operation of the loans. It argued that the allegations disclosed economic crimes and that its mandate was not limited to public entities.

Investigator Ishmael Nyamache told the court that “the mandate of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act is not limited to public entities and public officers” and argued that Parliament did not intend to restrict the EACC investigations to cases involving public resources.

KTDA rejected the request, saying it is a private company and that the loans were private commercial transactions rather than dealings involving public money.

“There is an active inquiry, by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations,” KTDA told the court, adding that the police should be allowed to discharge their duties “without undue interference” from EACC.

Justice Musyoka found that EACC’s notices referred only to allegations of corruption and economic crimes linked to the commodity loans.

“I have gone through the documents placed on record by both sides. All of them refer to ‘investigating allegations of corruption in the operation of commodity loans’ and ‘economic crimes and offences’. None of them make reference to bribery,” he said.

The judge further held that although the Anti-Bribery Act allows the EACC to investigate bribery involving both public and private entities, no allegation of bribery had been made in this case.

“Any purported investigations, by the EACC, of the applicants, on anything that has nothing to do with bribery, would be ultra vires and in excess of mandate,” said the court, allowing KTDA’s application to quash the EACC’s notices.

From demanding bosses to money troubles and sleepless nights, ashwagandha has gained popularity as a remedy for everyday struggles.

The herbal supplement is increasingly being touted as a way to beat stress, improve sleep and cope with the pressures of modern life.

‘I was going through peri-menopause [which usually begins between ages 40 and 44] and was irritable. My mind would wander and I would toss and turn in bed,’ says Jackie, who chose to use one name.

‘Since I am studying herbalism, I did some research and, backed by testimonials from other women. I decided to try it.’

For the first week, she steeped ashwagandha powder in a cup of hot water and drank it every evening.

‘I wasn’t fully nonchalant, but my mind was calm. The small things that used to irritate me didn’t anymore, my mind didn’t wander as it used to, and I would sleep well. Even my children noticed the shouting had subsided,’ she says.

Jackie later encountered other users who said the herb made them feel emotionally detached or overly nonchalant, which prompted her to reduce her intake to twice a week.

‘I am still in my peri-menopausal stage, and use it now and then if need arises,’ she says.

‘I also take it whenever I feel overwhelmed by work, emotions or when I have a lot going on.’

One unexpected effect, she says, is becoming less preoccupied with other people’s affairs.

‘There are times I would get overly involved and do much more than I was supposed to,’ she says.

‘When I take ashwagandha, I don’t get too concerned about other people’s business, though it weighs down on me emotionally sometimes.’

Jackie’s experience mirrors the testimonials flooding social media. But even as the popularity of ashwagandha continues to soar, it is worth asking where the hype ends and evidence begins.

Dr Joseph Maitha, a pharmacognosist, says ashwagandha – scientifically known as Withania somnifera – is a herb that traces its origins to India, where it has been used in traditional medicine for many centuries.

‘It was mostly used to treat respiratory conditions such as asthma, coughs and colds, as well as skin ailments,’ he says.

‘It has traditionally been used in Kenya as well for many of the same conditions, but now there are modern uses that have been supported by scientific research.’

Among its most widely studied uses is its potential to help the body cope with stress.

Dr Maitha says this ability has earned ashwagandha the nickname ‘Indian ginseng’ because of its similarities to ginseng, another herb associated with helping the body adapt to physical and mental stress.

Dr Sospeter Njeru, the acting deputy director and centre head at the Centre for Community-Driven Research, and a principal research scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), says ashwagandha’s stress and anxiety-relieving effects are thought to work, at least in part, by helping to regulate cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.

Beyond stress relief, research has explored the herb’s potential in several other areas.

‘Studies have found that ashwagandha may boost physical performance and energy levels, though researchers are still unsure whether it helps build bigger muscles,’ Dr Njeru says.

‘It has also been associated with improvement in memory, concentration and mental sharpness.’

Dr Maitha adds that research has found that the herb may help reduce inflammation, fight certain bacteria, relieve pain and reduce fever.

Other studies have explored its potential to lower cholesterol and support the immune system.

‘Claims that it helps manage diabetes, however, remain less convincing,’ Dr Njeru says.

‘Animal studies have shown only modest effects compared with conventional diabetes medication.’

Researchers have also examined ashwagandha’s effects on reproductive health.

According to Dr Njeru, studies suggest the herb may improve male fertility by helping balance reproductive hormones and improving sperm count and movement.

It has also traditionally been regarded as an aphrodisiac. There is little research on whether it offers similar benefits for women’s reproductive or sexual health.

However, experts caution that while some benefits have been tested in people, much of the evidence still comes from animal studies.

While the findings are promising, ashwagandha should not be treated as a cure-all.

According to Dr Maitha, the herb is generally considered safe when taken in moderation and no major toxic effects have been widely reported at recommended doses.

It is commonly sold as a powder, capsule or tablet, with the root being the most widely used part of the plant.

‘You don’t have to take too much. Too much of everything is poisonous after all, even food,’ he says.

He also advises consumers to be mindful of where they buy their supplements.

‘There are concerns about contamination or adulteration, so don’t just get it from anywhere,’ he says.

‘Because many ashwagandha products are imported, they have to undergo quality control and standardisation to ensure they are free from contaminants such as harmful microorganisms and aflatoxins.’

Dr Njeru further emphasises the need for caution.

‘Most studies have found Withania somnifera to be generally safe, but there is still need to be cautious of the possible side effects,’ he warns.

‘This is especially true of people suffering from autoimmune diseases, hyperthyroidism and pregnant women.’

High doses have been associated with intestinal problems, drowsiness, and sedative effects.

Dr Njeru says it is not clear how ashwagandha may react with some medicines or other supplements. For that reason, he advises people taking prescription medication to speak to a healthcare provider before using the herb.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) will build 25 feeder roads for the 16.5-kilometre Nairobi Western Bypass, which runs through Kiambu County, as part of plans to improve mobility and access.

The roads include Roselyne-Kang’ururi-slaughter (1.6km); Slaughter-Gituamba-Gacharage (1.5km); Lily of Valley-Muya-Kagondo (1.5km); Lily of Valley-Muya-Christco (1.2km); Yamogo-Sacred Heart (3.5km); Gatwikira (1.5km); Kimachia/Mbari ya Njau (1.3km) and River Side-King’eero SDA (1.8km).

Others are Marugu (1.1km); ACK St Mark Tito (1.1km); Karura-Kanyungu (1km); Cura/Gatumumu (1.4km); Rungiri Primary-PCEA (1km); Ndongoro/Kahingaru (1.5km); Rukubi Kwa Mbau (1Km); Rubby/Gitaru (1km) and Ruthiboi/Kanyariri (1km).

‘The works under this project will comprise the upgrading to bitumen standards of the feeder roads in Kiambu County,’ KeNHA said.

Western Bypass is a four-lane dual carriageway that connects the Nairobi Southern Bypass in Gitaru to the Northern Bypass in Ruaka. It passes through Wangige, Kihara and Ndenderu, serving as the final ring road to decongest Nairobi.

It supplements three other bypasses around Nairobi, including the 28.6-kilometre road, which links Nairobi and Kiambu counties through Lang’ata and Kikuyu.

The city also has the 21-kilometre Northern bypass that connects Ruaka on Limuru Road to Ruiru on Thika Road and the Eastern Bypass.

The Northern Bypass traverses Runda, with an overpass spanning Kiambu Road, Thome estate, Kahawa West, Githurai and Ngumba estate before reaching its terminus.

The city is also serviced by the 39km dual carriageway Eastern Bypass that connects Mombasa Road at City Cabanas to the Ruiru-Kiambu Road on Thika Superhighway.

Besides the bypasses, the city is also serviced by the 27-kilometre Nairobi Expressway, running from Mlolongo to Westlands, with the government planning to build more such roads.

‘Major corridors, including the Northern Corridor and routes connecting Nairobi to Central and Eastern Kenya, are increasingly congested, impeding efficient movement,’ KeNHA said in April.

‘The government recognises the impact inadequate infrastructure has on economic growth and poverty reduction. It has begun to observe how infrastructure bottlenecks are hindering foreign and domestic investment.’

Last year, I joined a group of East African executives for a study visit to the Dangote Oil Refinery in the port town of Lekki, Nigeria. I wrote about it here and waxed lyrical about how the audacious $20 billion largest single-train refinery in the world was making global waves. We took another group last week.

It has been 16 weeks since the start of the Middle East war that led to the Strait of Hormuz closure and the subsequent massive disruption to the global oil supply chain. Yet no one is talking about how that disruption is being mitigated by a legit 100 percent African solution.

There is a delicious, almost poetic irony currently unfolding on the Atlantic coastline. For decades, Nigeria, a country practically swimming in crude oil, performed a spectacular feat of economic self-sabotage: exporting its raw crude only to buy it back as ridiculously expensive, foreign-refined petrol.

Enter Aliko Dangote’s $20 billion refinery complex in Lekki. A year ago, critics were convinced this mega-refinery was destined to join the long, tragic hall of fame of stalled African infrastructure projects. Instead, Africa’s richest man has spent the last year proving that money, sheer stubbornness, and a touch of geopolitical luck can bend global energy markets to your will.

Dangote Refinery successfully loaded a tanker with 300,000 barrels of gasoline and shipped its first gasoline cargo to the United States in August 2025. Yes, you read that correctly. America, the land of fracking and massive Gulf Coast refineries, is now buying finished petrol from a refinery in Lagos.

And if that doesn’t tickle your sense of economic irony, look at Europe. Verified trade data shows Dangote exported 100,000 barrels/day of jet fuel to Europe in April 2026, surpassing U.S. shipments during that period. For a continent that has historically looked down its nose at African industrial capability, flying on planes powered by Lekki-refined fuel must be a wonderfully bitter pill to swallow.

Locally, Dangote also fought the local oil importation cartels in a ‘Naira-for-crude’ deal with the government. The noble idea was that Dangote would buy local crude in Nigerian Naira and sell petrol back to the domestic market in Naira, saving the country’s battered foreign reserves. It was a beautiful dream. It lasted about as long as a New Year’s weight loss resolution.

Local crude supply bottlenecks forced Dangote to start importing massive amounts of American WTI Midland crude, which is about one-third of total crude inputs. Now, if you are buying raw materials in US dollars but selling your finished product in volatile Naira, you are essentially running a highly sophisticated charity. Consequently, Dangote transitioned domestic sales of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel to US dollar benchmarked pricing.

While the world has been obsessing over his oil, Dangote has quietly been cornering another market: the global fertiliser trade. The existing Lekki fertiliser complex produces three million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of granulated urea. Armed with a fresh $600 million loan from the Africa Finance Corporation, Dangote is projecting to scale this empire up to 9 MTPA by 2028. Plans include a new 3 MTPA plant in Ethiopia. The end game? Generating over $4 billion annually in fertiliser exports.

The Middle East is currently a powder keg, and the threat of shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz has global oil traders clutching their pearls. But as a seasoned Kenyan electricity user will tell you, a transformer crisis in Mbeere can magically translate into a transformer opportunity across the Nyandarua Ranges in Ol Kalou.

With traditional fuel shipping routes from the Middle East to Europe looking increasingly perilous, Dangote’s refinery, perfectly situated on the Atlantic seaboard, has become the ultimate ‘swing supplier.’ It can pivot cargos east or west at a moment’s notice to fill sudden shortages.

Furthermore, as global buyers get jittery about West African crude logistics amidst international turmoil, Dangote has stepped up as the ultimate local buyer, snapping up domestic Nigerian crude. At 610,000 barrels/day throughput (94 percent utilisation), the refinery is processing record volumes and selling finished products in USD to panicked western buyers. Dangote has turned global instability into a highly lucrative victory lap and rewriting the global trade routes – one tanker of gasoline and one bag of urea at a time.

Dangote has unassailably debunked the myth that Africans cannot do business at a global scale. He is disrupting traditional global oil supply chains and has pulled up a seat at the table. Uninvited.

Obviously the ‘owners of capital’ don’t like it. Expect them to make a lot of noise when he attempts the same derring-do infrastructure investment on the East African coast. And when an ‘environmentalist’ dog starts barking about a new refinery there, look closely for its owners. They sit uncomfortably at the same table that Dangote has just invited himself to.

Safaricom has secured a deal to supply fibre internet to the government’s Affordable Housing Programme, extending broadband connectivity to thousands of low-cost homes nationwide.

The telco has already connected the first phase of the Mukuru Affordable Housing project in Nairobi, which was launched in May. Safaricom will provide pre-connected internet to all 14,000 housing units in the Mukuru project and others spread across the country.

The contract was disclosed by Safaricom’s South African parent company Vodacom Group.

Safaricom confirmed that the rollout will be replicated across other affordable housing projects under construction nationwide.

‘We will roll out similar services to the other housing projects across the country under the Affordable Housing programme,’ a Safaricom spokesperson told the Business Daily via email.

This marks the latest significant contract for the telco from the public sector, with the company having participated in the multi-billion-shilling digitisation of the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the National Surveillance, Communication and Control System.

The government has a 20 percent stake in Safaricom in which it retains significant influence.

The affordable housing units will be connected through Wi-Fi Bamba, a tokenised fibre broadband service that Safaricom is using to target lower-income households.

The package costs Sh800 and offers speeds of up to 15 megabits per second (Mbps), allowing connection of up to three devices at a time.

Unlike conventional fibre installations that rely on point-to-multipoint fibre access technology – hence requiring joinery (splicing) at cables’ ends – Wi-Fi Bamba uses a single plug-and-play cable. This reduces deployment time and installation costs.

The package is significantly cheaper than Safaricom’s standard Home Fibre plans, which start at Sh2,999 per month for 40Mbps and rise to Sh20,000 for 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps). It is designed for households with irregular incomes and customers who cannot commit to conventional monthly subscriptions.

The government is implementing affordable housing projects across all 47 counties, targeting the delivery of 500,000 affordable, social, institutional and student housing units by June 2029. To meet that target, it will need to complete about 124,500 houses annually between July 2025 and June 2029.

The housing contract complements Safaricom’s broader push into lower-income broadband customers as it seeks to grow beyond higher-income households and businesses.

The company also plans to roll out tokenised Wi-Fi services this year, offering hourly, daily and weekly access options similar to Kenya’s pay-as-you-go mobile data model. The service is expected to launch in both Kenya and Ethiopia.

Chief executive Peter Ndegwa has said that tiered pricing, targeted deployment in high-demand locations and lower-cost delivery models would help expand broadband adoption and reach millions of households currently priced out of fixed internet.

‘By tiering pricing, we can deliver propositions that expand participation and that will also reduce cost to serve, to allow us to reach the extra three million customers [not served by the broadband market],’ Mr Ndegwa said in a recent video published by the telco on YouTube.

As of March, Safaricom controlled 35.4 percent of Kenya’s fixed internet market with 941,501 subscriptions, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

The company estimates that the domestic market has the potential for about four million fixed broadband connections.

Its growth strategy combines fibre expansion, fixed wireless access powered by 5G and more affordable devices, marking a shift from its traditional focus on premium customers to lower-income segments.

Ask Wairimu Keriri about the fitness routine that has made her have an athletic physique of someone decades younger, and she won’t name just one exercise.

Hockey. Swimming. Marathons. Triathlons. Boxing. Strength training. Calisthenics.

The director of the Nairobi Institute of Technology is a fitness junkie, and it has paid off.

‘I turn 50 in five months,’ she says with a chuckle as she unpacks her gym bag at Hood Gym along Nairobi’s Naivasha Road, an unassuming place that could easily be mistaken for a neighbourhood garage.

It may not be as sleek as many gyms in malls, but inside, the clang of metal plates and weights hitting the floor as fitness enthusiasts lift, push, and pull is a reminder that this is a place built for training, not looks.

It feels like a workshop where bodies are being rebuilt, and it is here that Ms Keriri feels she gets the best out of herself.

‘I like the environment here. It immediately puts you in the mood to exercise. Today I’ll be training my arms and legs,’ she says.

Looking at her toned frame, it is easy to assume she spends most of her week in the gym. She only strength-trains twice a week.

Consistency, she explains, rather than spending endless hours lifting weights, has been her secret.

After more than 20 years of exercising regularly, she has found a routine that works for her body without following the typical four or five strength-training sessions many fitness enthusiasts swear by.

‘I swim three times a week, strength-train twice a week, and do calisthenics twice a week. Staying fit and in shape is not about living in the gym. It is about finding the right balance and sticking to it and being consistent,’ she explains.

But how exactly did she get here?

‘We have to go back to the days of PE (physical education). I have always been an active soul. But it is in the early 2000s that I became more serious with my workout routine.’

During her primary school days and later at Kenya High School, she played hockey, threw the discus, and spent countless hours in the swimming pool.

Like many fitness enthusiasts, when she started being serious about her fitness journey, she joined the popular group classes: Taebo, aerobics, and a bit of spin classes, most of which are cardio and endurance exercises. Then she fell in love with running.

‘There was this one time I was training for a half-marathon. Then I said, ‘I’ve done so many half marathons, let me challenge myself with a full marathon and it became a thing. I have run several marathons,’ she says.

First child at 37

The hours she had spent doing cardio and endurance training paid off when she became pregnant with her first child at 37.

‘After I had my son, [he’s 13 now], I went back to running almost immediately. I would wake up early, run between 10 and 12 kilometres, and come back just before he woke up, attend to him, and then go to work.’

But her second child changed that rhythm.

‘My daughter is nine now. She wasn’t as calm as my son when young. Most nights she didn’t sleep, so I could no longer keep up with the routine of going for morning runs and going to work on time. I turned to swimming and cycling.’

She would then discover Kenya’s triathlon community during the Covid-19 pandemic, an encounter that took her workout routine to a higher level.

‘I have done two triathlons, one in Nairobi and one in Diani, and I absolutely loved them. It is a three-discipline sport where you run, swim, and cycle. It is an endurance training that works the entire body in ways you can’t imagine.’

Restless fitness junkie

For about two years, she combined triathlon training with weightlifting before curiosity pulled her to try boxing, which she quickly fell in love with, but for only a short period.

‘I did boxing for four years before losing motivation, then I went back to swimming, which has always been a constant in my workout programmes.’

Joining a master’s swimming team (people above 40) made her realise she needed strength training designed specifically for swimmers.

‘It gives you the discipline to train. You’re not just swimming for the sake of swimming,’ she says.

Ms Keriri admits she is not one to stick to doing one thing for so long.

‘At this stage, I am in a season of swimming, strength training, and calisthenics. Previously I was in the season of waking up at 4.30am to run 12km. Maybe next year I will be doing something else; I don’t know. And it is okay to keep trying new challenges. The most important thing is to always keep moving.’

She discovered calisthenics in 2024.

‘It kept popping up on my Instagram, and that got me curious,’ she says. ‘Calisthenics isn’t about weight. It is you and your body. If you can’t lift your own body, then there’s a problem. That got me sucked up, and now I do calisthenics twice a week. In calisthenics, many movements focus on mobility and flexibility, which are essential to the body because, as you get older, your body gets stiffer. And you need to remain agile.’

It is one discipline, she says, that deserves far more attention than it receives. She describes it as the natural movements children instinctively perform when playing, such as squats, frog walks, and handstands.

Handstands tone

‘For me, even doing handstands has changed my body. It has helped my shoulders, my strength, and especially my butterfly swimming.’

She also likes that it requires no expensive equipment.

‘It’s something you can do into your 80s and 90s. You can even do it at home.’

Of all her exercises, she ranks strength training as the best for her body.

‘I am in the peri-menopause stage, and strength training is ideal because it helps me to sleep well. Peri-menopause can be a menace with hot flashes and all that, but with strength training, I can cope. As women, we need muscle. It is the organ of longevity, and nothing will help you build muscle if it’s not strength training. There is no shortcut.’

Balancing workout and workloads

Monday is usually for swimming. Tuesday and Thursday are calisthenics. Wednesday may be a recovery day, sometimes with an evening swim, while Friday can include both gym work and swimming.

‘I like doing the hardest exercises in the morning. The energy carries me through the day,’ she says.

However, she says she is at a point in her life where she doesn’t feel so guilty about missing a session. And that’s just how she balances her work, social life, and workouts.

‘My trainer gets really upset when she doesn’t see me for two weeks, but I don’t worry too much. The most important thing is staying consistent, and being consistent doesn’t mean showing up every single day.’

More than anything, exercise has become her way of resetting.

‘If I’m having a bad day, I come to the gym and work out. I like meeting people. I enjoy going to gyms because I meet people who enjoy the same things.’

Many fitness junkies avoid eating wheat products, but not Ms Keriri.

‘I told myself I must eat chapati, but only half. I eat many halves.’

Protein is a priority. Breakfast is usually an egg with toast, accompanied by black coffee or black tea. Lunch is often fish with spinach or kunde (cowpea greens). ‘I try to eat lots of roughage.’

Midday snacks might include almonds or boiled maize, while dinner is often chicken with some rice.

As much as she loves strength training, it is swimming she cannot do without.

‘Swimming is therapeutic. Because of my busy lifestyle, swimming gives me one and a half hours during which nobody can talk to me. It is me and my problems in the water,’ she says, adding, a typical session covers about three kilometres, roughly 120 laps.

Safaricom has secured a deal to supply fibre internet to the government’s Affordable Housing Programme, extending broadband connectivity to thousands of low-cost homes nationwide.

The telco has already connected the first phase of the Mukuru Affordable Housing project in Nairobi, which was launched in May. Safaricom will provide pre-connected internet to all 14,000 housing units in the Mukuru project and others spread across the country.

The contract was disclosed by Safaricom’s South African parent company Vodacom Group.

Safaricom confirmed that the rollout will be replicated across other affordable housing projects under construction nationwide.

‘We will roll out similar services to the other housing projects across the country under the Affordable Housing programme,’ a Safaricom spokesperson told the Business Daily via email.

This marks the latest significant contract for the telco from the public sector, with the company having participated in the multi-billion-shilling digitisation of the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the National Surveillance, Communication and Control System.

The government has a 20 percent stake in Safaricom in which it retains significant influence.

The affordable housing units will be connected through Wi-Fi Bamba, a tokenised fibre broadband service that Safaricom is using to target lower-income households.

The package costs Sh800 and offers speeds of up to 15 megabits per second (Mbps), allowing connection of up to three devices at a time.

Unlike conventional fibre installations that rely on point-to-multipoint fibre access technology – hence requiring joinery (splicing) at cables’ ends – Wi-Fi Bamba uses a single plug-and-play cable. This reduces deployment time and installation costs.

The package is significantly cheaper than Safaricom’s standard Home Fibre plans, which start at Sh2,999 per month for 40Mbps and rise to Sh20,000 for 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps). It is designed for households with irregular incomes and customers who cannot commit to conventional monthly subscriptions.

The government is implementing affordable housing projects across all 47 counties, targeting the delivery of 500,000 affordable, social, institutional and student housing units by June 2029. To meet that target, it will need to complete about 124,500 houses annually between July 2025 and June 2029.

The housing contract complements Safaricom’s broader push into lower-income broadband customers as it seeks to grow beyond higher-income households and businesses.

The company also plans to roll out tokenised Wi-Fi services this year, offering hourly, daily and weekly access options similar to Kenya’s pay-as-you-go mobile data model. The service is expected to launch in both Kenya and Ethiopia.

Chief executive Peter Ndegwa has said that tiered pricing, targeted deployment in high-demand locations and lower-cost delivery models would help expand broadband adoption and reach millions of households currently priced out of fixed internet.

‘By tiering pricing, we can deliver propositions that expand participation and that will also reduce cost to serve, to allow us to reach the extra three million customers [not served by the broadband market],’ Mr Ndegwa said in a recent video published by the telco on YouTube.

As of March, Safaricom controlled 35.4 percent of Kenya’s fixed internet market with 941,501 subscriptions, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

The company estimates that the domestic market has the potential for about four million fixed broadband connections.

Its growth strategy combines fibre expansion, fixed wireless access powered by 5G and more affordable devices, marking a shift from its traditional focus on premium customers to lower-income segments.

Ask Wairimu Keriri about the fitness routine that has made her have an athletic physique of someone decades younger, and she won’t name just one exercise.

Hockey. Swimming. Marathons. Triathlons. Boxing. Strength training. Calisthenics.

The director of the Nairobi Institute of Technology is a fitness junkie, and it has paid off.

‘I turn 50 in five months,’ she says with a chuckle as she unpacks her gym bag at Hood Gym along Nairobi’s Naivasha Road, an unassuming place that could easily be mistaken for a neighbourhood garage.

It may not be as sleek as many gyms in malls, but inside, the clang of metal plates and weights hitting the floor as fitness enthusiasts lift, push, and pull is a reminder that this is a place built for training, not looks.

It feels like a workshop where bodies are being rebuilt, and it is here that Ms Keriri feels she gets the best out of herself.

‘I like the environment here. It immediately puts you in the mood to exercise. Today I’ll be training my arms and legs,’ she says.

Looking at her toned frame, it is easy to assume she spends most of her week in the gym. She only strength-trains twice a week.

Consistency, she explains, rather than spending endless hours lifting weights, has been her secret.

After more than 20 years of exercising regularly, she has found a routine that works for her body without following the typical four or five strength-training sessions many fitness enthusiasts swear by.

‘I swim three times a week, strength-train twice a week, and do calisthenics twice a week. Staying fit and in shape is not about living in the gym. It is about finding the right balance and sticking to it and being consistent,’ she explains.

But how exactly did she get here?

‘We have to go back to the days of PE (physical education). I have always been an active soul. But it is in the early 2000s that I became more serious with my workout routine.’

During her primary school days and later at Kenya High School, she played hockey, threw the discus, and spent countless hours in the swimming pool.

Like many fitness enthusiasts, when she started being serious about her fitness journey, she joined the popular group classes: Taebo, aerobics, and a bit of spin classes, most of which are cardio and endurance exercises. Then she fell in love with running.

‘There was this one time I was training for a half-marathon. Then I said, ‘I’ve done so many half marathons, let me challenge myself with a full marathon and it became a thing. I have run several marathons,’ she says.

First child at 37

The hours she had spent doing cardio and endurance training paid off when she became pregnant with her first child at 37.

‘After I had my son, [he’s 13 now], I went back to running almost immediately. I would wake up early, run between 10 and 12 kilometres, and come back just before he woke up, attend to him, and then go to work.’

But her second child changed that rhythm.

‘My daughter is nine now. She wasn’t as calm as my son when young. Most nights she didn’t sleep, so I could no longer keep up with the routine of going for morning runs and going to work on time. I turned to swimming and cycling.’

She would then discover Kenya’s triathlon community during the Covid-19 pandemic, an encounter that took her workout routine to a higher level.

‘I have done two triathlons, one in Nairobi and one in Diani, and I absolutely loved them. It is a three-discipline sport where you run, swim, and cycle. It is an endurance training that works the entire body in ways you can’t imagine.’

Restless fitness junkie

For about two years, she combined triathlon training with weightlifting before curiosity pulled her to try boxing, which she quickly fell in love with, but for only a short period.

‘I did boxing for four years before losing motivation, then I went back to swimming, which has always been a constant in my workout programmes.’

Joining a master’s swimming team (people above 40) made her realise she needed strength training designed specifically for swimmers.

‘It gives you the discipline to train. You’re not just swimming for the sake of swimming,’ she says.

Ms Keriri admits she is not one to stick to doing one thing for so long.

‘At this stage, I am in a season of swimming, strength training, and calisthenics. Previously I was in the season of waking up at 4.30am to run 12km. Maybe next year I will be doing something else; I don’t know. And it is okay to keep trying new challenges. The most important thing is to always keep moving.’

She discovered calisthenics in 2024.

‘It kept popping up on my Instagram, and that got me curious,’ she says. ‘Calisthenics isn’t about weight. It is you and your body. If you can’t lift your own body, then there’s a problem. That got me sucked up, and now I do calisthenics twice a week. In calisthenics, many movements focus on mobility and flexibility, which are essential to the body because, as you get older, your body gets stiffer. And you need to remain agile.’

It is one discipline, she says, that deserves far more attention than it receives. She describes it as the natural movements children instinctively perform when playing, such as squats, frog walks, and handstands.

Handstands tone

‘For me, even doing handstands has changed my body. It has helped my shoulders, my strength, and especially my butterfly swimming.’

She also likes that it requires no expensive equipment.

‘It’s something you can do into your 80s and 90s. You can even do it at home.’

Of all her exercises, she ranks strength training as the best for her body.

‘I am in the peri-menopause stage, and strength training is ideal because it helps me to sleep well. Peri-menopause can be a menace with hot flashes and all that, but with strength training, I can cope. As women, we need muscle. It is the organ of longevity, and nothing will help you build muscle if it’s not strength training. There is no shortcut.’

Balancing workout and workloads

Monday is usually for swimming. Tuesday and Thursday are calisthenics. Wednesday may be a recovery day, sometimes with an evening swim, while Friday can include both gym work and swimming.

‘I like doing the hardest exercises in the morning. The energy carries me through the day,’ she says.

However, she says she is at a point in her life where she doesn’t feel so guilty about missing a session. And that’s just how she balances her work, social life, and workouts.

‘My trainer gets really upset when she doesn’t see me for two weeks, but I don’t worry too much. The most important thing is staying consistent, and being consistent doesn’t mean showing up every single day.’

More than anything, exercise has become her way of resetting.

‘If I’m having a bad day, I come to the gym and work out. I like meeting people. I enjoy going to gyms because I meet people who enjoy the same things.’

Many fitness junkies avoid eating wheat products, but not Ms Keriri.

‘I told myself I must eat chapati, but only half. I eat many halves.’

Protein is a priority. Breakfast is usually an egg with toast, accompanied by black coffee or black tea. Lunch is often fish with spinach or kunde (cowpea greens). ‘I try to eat lots of roughage.’

Midday snacks might include almonds or boiled maize, while dinner is often chicken with some rice.

As much as she loves strength training, it is swimming she cannot do without.

‘Swimming is therapeutic. Because of my busy lifestyle, swimming gives me one and a half hours during which nobody can talk to me. It is me and my problems in the water,’ she says, adding, a typical session covers about three kilometres, roughly 120 laps.

Ask Wairimu Keriri about the fitness routine that has made her have an athletic physique of someone decades younger, and she won’t name just one exercise.

Hockey. Swimming. Marathons. Triathlons. Boxing. Strength training. Calisthenics.

The director of the Nairobi Institute of Technology is a fitness junkie, and it has paid off.

‘I turn 50 in five months,’ she says with a chuckle as she unpacks her gym bag at Hood Gym along Nairobi’s Naivasha Road, an unassuming place that could easily be mistaken for a neighbourhood garage.

It may not be as sleek as many gyms in malls, but inside, the clang of metal plates and weights hitting the floor as fitness enthusiasts lift, push, and pull is a reminder that this is a place built for training, not looks.

It feels like a workshop where bodies are being rebuilt, and it is here that Ms Keriri feels she gets the best out of herself.

‘I like the environment here. It immediately puts you in the mood to exercise. Today I’ll be training my arms and legs,’ she says.

Looking at her toned frame, it is easy to assume she spends most of her week in the gym. She only strength-trains twice a week.

Consistency, she explains, rather than spending endless hours lifting weights, has been her secret.

After more than 20 years of exercising regularly, she has found a routine that works for her body without following the typical four or five strength-training sessions many fitness enthusiasts swear by.

‘I swim three times a week, strength-train twice a week, and do calisthenics twice a week. Staying fit and in shape is not about living in the gym. It is about finding the right balance and sticking to it and being consistent,’ she explains.

But how exactly did she get here?

‘We have to go back to the days of PE (physical education). I have always been an active soul. But it is in the early 2000s that I became more serious with my workout routine.’

During her primary school days and later at Kenya High School, she played hockey, threw the discus, and spent countless hours in the swimming pool.

Like many fitness enthusiasts, when she started being serious about her fitness journey, she joined the popular group classes: Taebo, aerobics, and a bit of spin classes, most of which are cardio and endurance exercises. Then she fell in love with running.

‘There was this one time I was training for a half-marathon. Then I said, ‘I’ve done so many half marathons, let me challenge myself with a full marathon and it became a thing. I have run several marathons,’ she says.

First child at 37

The hours she had spent doing cardio and endurance training paid off when she became pregnant with her first child at 37.

‘After I had my son, [he’s 13 now], I went back to running almost immediately. I would wake up early, run between 10 and 12 kilometres, and come back just before he woke up, attend to him, and then go to work.’

But her second child changed that rhythm.

‘My daughter is nine now. She wasn’t as calm as my son when young. Most nights she didn’t sleep, so I could no longer keep up with the routine of going for morning runs and going to work on time. I turned to swimming and cycling.’

She would then discover Kenya’s triathlon community during the Covid-19 pandemic, an encounter that took her workout routine to a higher level.

‘I have done two triathlons, one in Nairobi and one in Diani, and I absolutely loved them. It is a three-discipline sport where you run, swim, and cycle. It is an endurance training that works the entire body in ways you can’t imagine.’

Restless fitness junkie

For about two years, she combined triathlon training with weightlifting before curiosity pulled her to try boxing, which she quickly fell in love with, but for only a short period.

‘I did boxing for four years before losing motivation, then I went back to swimming, which has always been a constant in my workout programmes.’

Joining a master’s swimming team (people above 40) made her realise she needed strength training designed specifically for swimmers.

‘It gives you the discipline to train. You’re not just swimming for the sake of swimming,’ she says.

Ms Keriri admits she is not one to stick to doing one thing for so long.

‘At this stage, I am in a season of swimming, strength training, and calisthenics. Previously I was in the season of waking up at 4.30am to run 12km. Maybe next year I will be doing something else; I don’t know. And it is okay to keep trying new challenges. The most important thing is to always keep moving.’

She discovered calisthenics in 2024.

‘It kept popping up on my Instagram, and that got me curious,’ she says. ‘Calisthenics isn’t about weight. It is you and your body. If you can’t lift your own body, then there’s a problem. That got me sucked up, and now I do calisthenics twice a week. In calisthenics, many movements focus on mobility and flexibility, which are essential to the body because, as you get older, your body gets stiffer. And you need to remain agile.’

It is one discipline, she says, that deserves far more attention than it receives. She describes it as the natural movements children instinctively perform when playing, such as squats, frog walks, and handstands.

Handstands tone

‘For me, even doing handstands has changed my body. It has helped my shoulders, my strength, and especially my butterfly swimming.’

She also likes that it requires no expensive equipment.

‘It’s something you can do into your 80s and 90s. You can even do it at home.’

Of all her exercises, she ranks strength training as the best for her body.

‘I am in the peri-menopause stage, and strength training is ideal because it helps me to sleep well. Peri-menopause can be a menace with hot flashes and all that, but with strength training, I can cope. As women, we need muscle. It is the organ of longevity, and nothing will help you build muscle if it’s not strength training. There is no shortcut.’

Balancing workout and workloads

Monday is usually for swimming. Tuesday and Thursday are calisthenics. Wednesday may be a recovery day, sometimes with an evening swim, while Friday can include both gym work and swimming.

‘I like doing the hardest exercises in the morning. The energy carries me through the day,’ she says.

However, she says she is at a point in her life where she doesn’t feel so guilty about missing a session. And that’s just how she balances her work, social life, and workouts.

‘My trainer gets really upset when she doesn’t see me for two weeks, but I don’t worry too much. The most important thing is staying consistent, and being consistent doesn’t mean showing up every single day.’

More than anything, exercise has become her way of resetting.

‘If I’m having a bad day, I come to the gym and work out. I like meeting people. I enjoy going to gyms because I meet people who enjoy the same things.’

Many fitness junkies avoid eating wheat products, but not Ms Keriri.

‘I told myself I must eat chapati, but only half. I eat many halves.’

Protein is a priority. Breakfast is usually an egg with toast, accompanied by black coffee or black tea. Lunch is often fish with spinach or kunde (cowpea greens). ‘I try to eat lots of roughage.’

Midday snacks might include almonds or boiled maize, while dinner is often chicken with some rice.

As much as she loves strength training, it is swimming she cannot do without.

‘Swimming is therapeutic. Because of my busy lifestyle, swimming gives me one and a half hours during which nobody can talk to me. It is me and my problems in the water,’ she says, adding, a typical session covers about three kilometres, roughly 120 laps.