Category: Business Daily

We all dream of landing that corporate job, the one that promises stability, a steady income and a shot at climbing up the ladder. For others, the dream is to one day call the shots and run their own business. But sometimes, that dream changes.

The long hours, office politics or simply the feeling of being stuck push some people to walk away from the corporate world altogether. A few leave with a plan; others take the leap first and figure things out later. Either way, both paths come with their own share of risks.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has rejected an attempt by former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) commissioner Edward Kinyua Karanja to halt the recruitment of a new head of the Investigations and Enforcement Department.

In a ruling delivered on October 16, Justice Christine Baari Noontatua dismissed Dr Karanja’s application seeking to suspend the hiring until his suit for unlawful termination and reinstatement is heard and determined.

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When Germany shut down its last reactors at Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim, the pound 500 billion Energiewende was applauded as a triumph. Two years on, however, the results read more like a cautionary tale.

With coal smoke drifting again over the Rhine and electricity prices hovering around pound 0.39 per kilowatt-hour, Germany has become a net importer of power from the likes of nuclear-powered France, even as it is dismantling its functional fleet.

Rather than the green utopia promised, the National Bureau of Economic Research says the social cost of Atomausstieg (nuclear phase-out) that had begun in 2000 and that was put on steroids after the tsunami that flooded the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant, is nearly $12 billion a year.

A staggering 70 percent of this stems from increased air pollution mortality as coal smoke stacks last seen a century ago are resuscitated and resume belching thousands of tonnes of greenhouse emissions when the wind is not blowing.

For pragmatic leaders everywhere, the spectacular failure of Germany’s energy reversion teaches a lesson that our own, the late Raila Odinga (Baba), advocated for long before it was fashionable.

As both an engineer and statesman, Baba showed through his actions that he understood that energy access is the heartbeat of modern life. When evaluating the case for the now-cancelled coal-powered plant in Lamu, he warned that politics alone cannot keep the lights on.

His conviction that policy must respect science, system integration, and cost reality is writ large in such and other infrastructure projects. I was old enough to examine the intrigues that surrounded the construction of the Thika Super Highway.

Now, in the stillness and silence that follows his sudden death, his final gift to us, his children, is perhaps his greatest — the promise of nuclear power.

According to the Least-Cost Power Development Plan 2024-2043, our growing cities, swelling population, and manufacturing ambitions can no longer rely solely on hydro and fossil-fuel thermal stations that buckle under drought or import costs.

Baba’s actions in the past insisted that ambition without structure is daydreaming. The government has crafted the Nuclear Science and Technology Policy that aims to guarantee not only power generation but also radiation protection, waste management, and adherence to global treaties.

The policy’s objectives stretch well beyond energy. It encourages peaceful nuclear applications across fields that directly affect food security and livelihoods. It promotes research, education, and innovation by seeking cooperation with other nations for safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.

The policy even outlines mechanisms for establishing the Kenya Atomic Energy Agency to coordinate all these activities. Each clause echoes Baba’s philosophy of development through knowledge, not slogans.

May Baba rest in eternal peace, and may the energy of his nuclear-powered ideas continue to guide his children towards the future he envisioned for Kenya, Africa and the rest of the world.

The nay sayers who do not share Baba’s visionary judiciousness often point to risks or costs, forgetting that every technology carries both one way or the other.

For nuclear technology what matters is governance. Kenya’s measured approach moving steadily from one IAEA Milestone to the other reflects the prudence Baba championed.

Our path might not mimic the blind exuberance of some nations nor the abrupt withdrawal of others. Ours is deliberate, layered, and inclusive such that if Germany’s phase-out was a sprint fuelled by sentiment, Kenya’s slow but steady build-up is a marathon paced by science and soon to be guided, once adopted by the Nuclear Science and Technology Policy.

For a nuclear engineer with roots in Kibra, the constituency Baba served and as an alumnus of Maseno School, where his father taught, the project is not just about the cheap, clean and safe megawatts that will chase away darkness.

The nuclear plant is the continuation of the realism and courage that has imbued Baba’s life. When future generations switch on their lights, they will be illuminated by the light cast by one of the greatest statemen of our time.

They’ll inherit not just electricity but also proof that foresight eventually beats fashion and that leadership anchored in reason and realism endures long after slogans have faded.

Property agencies face daily fines of Sh10,000 for failing to register with the anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), in a crackdown on corrupt business people and other criminals hiding wealth in real estate.

The anti-money laundering watchdog has turned the heat on the property and land dealers after only 112 of the targeted 1,504 agents registered with it. All real estate agencies have been directed to register with the FRC by November 14 or risk penalties for non-compliance, which include Sh25 million fines for institutions and Sh5 million fines for individuals.

Kenya will be required to substantially improve its collection of taxes to raise its credit score, global ratings agencies have said.

The country’s ratings from all three major agencies sit in the non-investment grade category at B- for Fitch, Caa1 for Moody’s and B for Standard and Poors (S and P).

Cash wired home by Kenyans living and working abroad grew by Sh15 billion during the nine months ended September to $3.774 billion (Sh488.5 billion), a 3.2 percent rise from the $3.658 billion (Sh473.5 billion) recorded in a similar period last year.

New data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows that Kenyans in the diaspora sent home $419.6 million (Sh54.3 billion) in September, adding to the cumulative $3.355 billion

Soon, many Kenyan wills will be written by people who want a swift, simple farewell. Their intention is clear, but the problem is timing, and logistics.

Most wills are stored in lawyers’ offices, bank vaults, or safe deposit boxes.

Kenya is at a digital crossroads. Migration from rural to urban areas, remote work, automation, and entirely new job categories are changing how Kenyans live and work. Yet this transformation cannot happen without infrastructure.

The young Kenyan with big digital ambitions but limited resources is trapped in a kind of digital poverty, connected but not fully included.

On the other end, millennials and Gen Z with more spending power demand seamless, high-quality services that enable work, play, and everything in between.

Meeting both ends of this spectrum requires value-driven, affordable, flexible plans that widen access and high-capacity networks that power Kenya’s growing digital economy.

Government efforts such as the National Digital Master Plan and Kenya Cloud Policy have given investors certainty that Kenya has what it takes to lead in Africa’s digital economy.

GSMA data further shows that mobile internet penetration in Africa is projected to reach nearly 50 percent by 2030, and Kenya is already leading steady development in mobile internet usage thanks to the combination of mobile internet and financial services.

The question lingers: what more can the country do to remain relevant in the ‘Silicon Savannah’ conversation? Infrastructure remains the bedrock of this transformation.

Data centres are the ‘digital power plants’ of the modern economy. Just as power plants keep cities running with electricity, data centres sustain businesses and daily life by storing, processing, and transmitting digital information. But how does this touch ordinary lives?

At the heart of Kenya’s future is a young, tech-savvy population that is ambitious, connected, and eager to be part of the digital revolution.

For the average Kenyan, the promise of a local data centre means cheaper, faster, and more reliable digital services. Today, much of our data is stored thousands of kilometres away, which adds cost and slows down access. Hosting data locally means your video call drops less often, your banking app loads faster, and your government eCitizen service works without frustrating delays.

For innovators, particularly young people in informal settlements, local data infrastructure means they can build and test apps at lower cost. A start-up with an idea for an e-health platform no longer has to pay expensive overseas cloud fees. This lowers the barrier for entry, giving more youth a fair shot at turning ideas into businesses.

Beyond digital access, infrastructure like data centre carries a more immediate benefit, jobs. Kenya’s unemployment rate in 2025 is forecast between 5.2 percent and 7.2 percent, but youth unemployment is far higher, around 67 percent. Data centres matter because they create both direct and ripple-effect opportunities.

From construction workers building the facilities, to highly skilled cloud engineers managing AI systems, thousands of jobs will be created.

And it does not stop there. Data centres need security firms, catering services, transport logistics, equipment suppliers, and maintenance contractors. For every direct job, estimates suggest three more will be created in supporting industries. For the ordinary Kenyan, this translates into immediate opportunities, not just abstract growth.

The 2024 Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index ranked Kenya 8th in Africa and 93rd globally, a clear signal that the country is already laying the groundwork for meaningful participation in the AI economy. Globally, artificial intelligence is projected to unlock $2.9 trillion by 2030, but tapping into that potential requires more than ambition and mobile penetration; it demands infrastructure.

AI thrives on speed, scale and massive volumes of data. Without local data centres, Kenyan innovators face higher costs, slower performance, and limited access to the computational power needed to compete on the world stage. A modern data centre bridges this gap. It allows AI systems to process locally relevant data securely under Kenyan law. This matters not only for startups experimenting with AI-driven solutions, but also for hospitals deploying diagnostic tools, smallholder farmers relying on predictive analytics for crops, and government agencies using AI to improve service delivery. Without a data centre, Kenya risks being only a consumer of imported AI solutions.

Of course, the road is not without potholes. Kenya faces a shortage of cloud engineers, data scientists, and specialised digital skills. Power stability, though stronger than in many neighbouring markets, must scale alongside demand. This path must also be driven by collaboration between the government, regulators, and private sector players.

These challenges are real, but they are not insurmountable. Investing in skills training, aligning county and national regulations, and reinforcing energy reliability will ensure that infrastructure delivers its full promise.

Kenya’s opportunity is clear, and so is the risk. If we fail to invest decisively, the ‘Silicon Savannah’ may remain a slogan while other African hubs overtake us.

But if policymakers, regulators, and private players move with urgency, Kenya can secure its place as East Africa’s digital anchor.

Building world-class data infrastructure is the first and most visible step. Making sure the student in Kisumu is hustling online and the fintech founder in Nairobi is scaling across Africa, both benefits are the work that follows.

Every now and then, a film shows up that leaves a mark, shaping how you see the world, maybe even who you become. For me, as a visual artist, that film was Tron: Legacy, among others.

Movies like Terminator 2, Dark City, The Matrix, 300, and of course, Tron: Legacy presented scenes that made me wonder how they were able to pull them off, even after watching the behind-the-scenes commentary.

The visuals, the colour, the sound, it wasn’t just cool, it was art in motion. Tron: Legacy came out at the perfect time for me. I was in the early days of my visual arts journey, and it’s the only movie that made me want to create cool designs. So, yes, Tron is personal. I’ve been waiting over a decade for a new one, hoping Disney would finally take the risk, build on what Legacy started, and maybe even ask deeper questions.

Instead, Tron: Ares ended up being a painful reminder that good visuals can’t save mediocre writing sprinkled with a lot of generic modern trends.

I walked into the theatre excited. I walked out deflated and, honestly, a bit sad.

Tron: Ares

Directed by Joachim Rønning, Tron: Ares stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, and Gillian Anderson, with Jeff Bridges returning briefly as Kevin Flynn.

On paper, it’s a very promising setup. We get programmes sent from the Grid into the real world to accomplish a mission, a great chance to explore what happens when technology crosses that line between simulation and existence. Something that was promised at the end of Tron: Legacy.

But that’s not what we get.

The story plays out like a checklist of sci-fi clichés, the kind where technology can be exploited but is potentially dangerous, humanity is at risk, but this time it’s two big corporations fighting over the tech.

We’ve learned nothing from the last 50 years of sci-fi movies. The writing is flat, the plot convoluted. The dialogue feels like filler; it’s terrible. You keep waiting for it to say or do something new, but it never does. It’s the kind of film that mistakes looking smart for being smart, almost like something written by, wait for it, AI.

And that’s the most frustrating thing about this film. Because this franchise used to be creatively daring.

The first Tron in 1982 was groundbreaking visually. Legacy in 2010 was bold, stylish, and surprisingly emotional. Ares just feels safe.

Polished, yes, but safe. Disney took a legacy IP, ran it through their modern filter, and stripped out the uniqueness and progressiveness that made Tron special.

Some positives

Here’s what I’ll give it: Ares looks and sounds incredible. The lighting, the red, blue and orange tones at night, the digital textures when programs are derezed (destroyed), it’s everything you’d expect from a Tron movie on a technical level.

There are some very impressive light-cycle chases, and the opening sequence, for a moment, captures that old magic and brings newcomers up to speed. The music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross adds grit and mood, almost matching what Daft Punk did with Tron: Legacy.

There are flashes of something that could have been great. But they never last.

Jared Leto’s Ares is a strange choice. He’s supposed to be this program-turned-being trying to understand humanity, but he feels robotic, which contradicts what’s been set up by the franchise.

Programmes have personalities. Still, I enjoyed his performance; he was easily the most interesting character, but given very little to work with. Greta Lee brings heart where she can, and Jeff Bridges’ cameo is a nice touch, but nothing connects.

The issue is the bloated script, too much exposition, and half-baked dialogue, though it’s somewhat manageable thanks to the direction, action set pieces, pacing, and editing.

At times, it even forgets it’s a Tron movie. There’s so much that feels generic, like those terrible high-budget straight-to-streaming sci-fi films that just happen to have light cycles in it. It’s missing that pulse, that sense of wonder the franchise used to have.

Oversimplified

And maybe this is where my disappointment really comes from. Tron has always been about creation, about humans making something so advanced that it begins to mirror them. It’s about identity, curiosity, and the idea of digital life finding meaning.

Ares should’ve been the perfect sci-fi film for this generation, especially with all the conversations around AI and consciousness. Instead, it goes for the most basic Hollywood sci-fi formula we’ve seen over and over again. Basically, oversimplification killed this movie.

Another thing that stood out, and not in a good way, is how much this movie feels like it’s trying to please everyone. Disney plays it so safe that it becomes bland.

The attempts at representation feel forced, not because diversity is a problem (it’s needed), but because it’s done without any real storytelling purpose.

It feels performative, like a studio note rather than a creative choice, where the push for race and gender sits at the forefront rather than story and plot. Basically, this is hardly a Flynn story anymore; it’s just random diverse characters we’re suddenly supposed to care about.

And maybe that’s the word for this film: performative.

Every part of it feels like an imitation, the design, the dialogue, the emotion. It’s trying to remind you of Tron: Legacy without understanding why that film worked.

It’s frustrating because you can see the potential bleeding through. You can tell there was a version of this film that might’ve worked if they’d just stuck to what was set up by the second movie, one that trusted its audience. But somewhere along the line, it got watered down.

Tron without Tron

And how is this a Tron without Tron? Yes, I understand the events of Legacy, but they should have found a way to bring him back. I mean, what is the point of calling it Tron without the character?

Leaving the theatre, and even now, I couldn’t stop thinking about Legacy.

That film wasn’t perfect, but it was streamlined. It was ahead of its time both visually and thematically. It was about connection, creation, and the idea that even inside a computer, there is complex, vibrant life. Ares only touches on that, then redirects us to lesser intriguing, poorly written real-life characters.

As a Tron fan, I wanted something that built on what made me fall in love with the series in the first place: imagination, risk, sci-fi beauty that bleeds cool, and a sense of awe. But what I got was a waste of money on a ticket, and this is coming from a person who believes in visual flair over substance in film.

Go watch it

If you’ve never heard of Tron and just want a decent dose of visual spectacle and action, then yes, there’s something to enjoy here, preferably on IMAX or any cinema with great audio and a massive screen.

I still think Tron can come back. But it needs creators who understand that visuals are only half the point. The soul is what made it matter.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has recommended a further review of tax exemptions on goods and services as it identifies a Sh1.78 trillion gap in collections of value-added tax(VAT).

An internal report from the tax authority reveals that the difference between actual and potential tax collections from VAT amounts to 11.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as of the end of 2023, which translates to a nominal Sh1.78 trillion.