LONDON/NAIROBI, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Internet activists
accused governments of making it difficult for users of the Web,
rights campaigners and private businesses to carry out their
work through state attempts to seize control of the Web.

They said state officials were getting bolder in their drive
to regulate the Web that has fuelled Arab revolutions, enabled
mass leaks of U.S. diplomatic cables and allowed online piracy
to thrive.

NAIROBI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Kenya’s central bank said it
was committed to a market-determined foreign exchange rate only
as long as it was supported by fundamentals, in remarks that
spooked some observers who feared a retreat from free-market
policies.

Central bank governor Njuguna Ndung’u on Friday blamed in
part the shilling’s slide on global market turmoil and vowed not
to take actions that undermine confidence, defending policies at
a time when the local currency has lost nearly a quarter of its
value this year.

NAIROBI, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Kenya’s central bank has a
chance to restore stability to the country’s money and foreign
exchange markets and win back market confidence, if it
aggressively raises interest rates at an emergency meeting on
Sept. 14, analysts said.

The bank has been caught badly between a spike in inflation
and a steep slide in the value of the shilling, which has shed
as much as 18 percent this year, worsening inflation further.

NAIROBI, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Chronic power blackouts and
higher electricity bills in Kenya are fuelling anger ahead of
next year’s presidential election as they push up living costs
and cast doubts on the government’s ability to fully implement
its long-term economic vision.

In a country where inflation has soared to double-digits and
the currency has faced a battering, the economy is shaping up to
be a key election issue as voters grow increasingly incensed at
the higher cost of living, including massive utility bills for
an unreliable service.

NAIROBI, Sept 8 (Reuters) – The Kenyan shilling
firmed on Thursday after President Mwai Kibaki said the
government was seeking an early disbursement of an existing IMF
facility to ease pressure on the local currency and help restore
order to domestic markets.

The International Monetary Fund confirmed Kenya had sought
the additional funds to cope with the impact of a prolonged
drought and high prices, where inflation stood at 16.67 percent
in August.

NAIROBI, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki
said on Thursday the government was seeking an early
disbursement of funds under an agreed IMF facility to ease
pressure on the shilling and help restore order to
domestic markets.

The International Monetary Fund confirmed Kenya had sought
the additional funds to cope with the impact of a prolonged
drought and high prices in the east African country, where
inflation stood at 16.67 percent in August.

NAIROBI, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Kenya’s central bank said it
would hold an unscheduled meeting of its rate-setting committee
on Sept. 14 and analysts said they hoped it was a sign
policymakers would tighten policy to win back investors’
confidence.

A regular meeting of the bank’s monetary policy committee
had been due to take place later in September. The Sept. 14
meeting will be in addition to the regular meeting, bank
spokesman Samson Burgei told Reuters.

NAIROBI, Aug 29 (Reuters) – The Kenyan central bank’s latest
change of rules on borrowing through its overnight discount
window is expected to cause a sharp fall in the interbank
lending rate, and more steps by authorities are likely, official
sources said on Monday.

In a circular to banking executives, the central bank
revised the rules for its discount window late on Friday, the
second change in two weeks. It wants to rein in the weighted
average interbank lending rate, which hit 28.444 percent that
day because of an acute liquidity crunch.

NAIROBI, Aug 26 (Reuters) – East African Breweries
, the region’s most valuable company, posted a 3
percent fall in annual pretax profit, with a rebound in Uganda
beer sales offset by the costs of integrating an acquisition in
Tanzania.

EABL, controlled by Diageo , the world’s largest
drinks group, bought 51 percent of Serengeti Breweries, the
second-largest brewer in Tanzania, last October.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Ailing Nokia Oyj unveiled two cheap cellphone models inspired by consumer needs in Africa, aiming to strengthen its position against low-cost Asian rivals.

Nokia shares have roughly halved this year as the company struggled to keep up with the pace of smartphone development while also losing ground at the cheaper end of the market to Asian brands such as ZTE and G’Five.