The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) has signed a news media cooperation agreement with China’s Hubei Media Group in an effort to strengthen content exchange, cultural collaboration and media technology partnerships between the two institutions.
KBC Managing Director Agnes Kalekye signed the agreement on behalf of the state broadcaster during the opening ceremony of the China-Hubei Media Week in Africa held in Nairobi on Friday, June 26.
The agreement seeks to create opportunities for the two media organisations to share content, explore joint creative projects and enhance collaboration between Kenyan and Chinese media practitioners.
Speaking after the signing, Kalekye said the partnership will allow KBC to share its rich cultural archive while creating new platforms for collaboration between creators from the two countries.
“KBC will be a partner, not a spectator. We will move beyond exchange into co-creation. Beyond cooperation into integration,” she said.
“We will digitise our archives, treasures dating back to 1928, not to lock them away, but to share them. We will build platforms where Kenyan and Chinese creators meet, learn and grow together.”
She added that the new partnership builds on the longstanding relationship between Kenya and China, dating back to the 1960s, by providing new avenues for citizens of both countries to connect through media and culture.
“We have been talking about China-Africa partnerships for decades. Infrastructure. Trade. Education. All vital. But the partnership we gather to celebrate today is different. It is about connection, not just between countries, but between people. Between hearts. Between the grandmothers and mothers who raised us and the children who will inherit the world we are building,” said Kalekye.
During the opening ceremony, Luo Yabo, Director of the TV Series Management Department at the Hubei Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, said the China-Hubei Media Week provides an important platform for strengthening people-to-people connections between Africa and China.
The event follows the China-Hunan Film Week held from June 9 to 11, further reflecting efforts to expand cultural and creative industry partnerships between Kenya and China.
The week-long programme will feature a curated exhibition of film and audiovisual work from China. Participants can also expect conferences on cultural industries and trends shaping the sector, including AI.
The opening ceremony also included the signing of a film and television co-production cooperation agreement between the Kenya Film Commission, signed by the CEO Timothy Owase and the Hubei Yangtze River Film Group.
The Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) will host the fourth edition of the African Book Fair organised by Soma Nami, set for August 5 to 9 at Upperhill.
Organisers for the event have said that the celebration of African literature will be geared towards ‘Rewriting the Future: African Stories, Power and Possibility’.
In an exclusive statement seen by KBC Digital, Soma Nami said that honouring all the facets of African literature remains at the heart of the upcoming festival.
“For the past four years, the African Book Fair has celebrated African stories from across the continent, highlighting the richness of literature from all 54 African countries and the diaspora,” the statement said. “That commitment remains at the heart of who we are. But as the Fair has grown, so has our understanding of what makes African literature truly remarkable.”
This year, the festival hopes to highlight the diversity of African writing, not just geographically but in terms of genre.
“African literature is often spoken about as though it is a single category. Yet anyone who reads widely knows that African stories cannot be confined to one genre, one experience, one language, or one perspective,” organisers said. “There are love stories and political manifestos. Thrillers and children’s books. Fantasy epics and family memoirs. Stories of migration and belonging, joy and resistance, memory and possibility.”
Organisers further said it was important to shift the spotlight.
“This year, we’re inviting readers to look beyond the map and into the extraordinary range of stories that African writers are creating,” they added. “We’re shifting the spotlight from where stories come from to what they make possible.”
The four-day event will feature exclusive fair discounts on books, book chats, thought-provoking conversations, live performances, poetry and workshops.
Entry to the event is free; however, limited spaces will be available for specific fair events, so early registration is recommended.
International streamer Netflix has released its new slate of upcoming animation projects scheduled to be released throughout 2026 and early 2027.
While presenting at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the company highlighted the success of its top-performing animation, Kpop Demon Hunters, released in 2025.
“It’s an unprecedented year for Netflix Animation, with the triumphant Kpop Demon Hunters taking home a history-making two Oscars and becoming Netflix’s most popular film of all time, spending over a year in Netflix’s Global Top 10,” the company said.
In addition to the Oscars, the animation division at the company has earned “13 Annie Awards wins, including three for Love, Death + Robots; and Ultraman: Rising”, and recently received the “Children and Family Emmys for Outstanding Animated Special and Sound Mixing & Sound Editing for an Animated Program.”
The streamer also said that anime programming, which included series such as “One Piece”, “Devil May Cry”, topped more than 1.5B views in 2025.
Here is a list of upcoming animations for 2026/2027.
Psychological thriller, ‘Anam’s Wake’, is expected to premiere on July 31 at Prestige Cinema, with additional screenings scheduled from August 1 to 2.
Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Likarion Wainaina, the film explores themes of grief, memory and the lingering consequences of unresolved loss. Wanjiru Njoroge is attached as producer, while Enos Olik is credited as cinematographer.
Speaking about the film, Mr Wainana said it was inspired by his own story of grief.
“‘Anam’s Wake’ was born from my own journey through grief. After attending numerous burials in early 2024, I became fascinated by the way sorrow often stays hidden, only to return with overwhelming force later,” he said. “This film explores that terrifying truth, that unprocessed grief waits in the shadows, ready to consume us.”
Mr Wainaina is also known for his work on 2018’s ‘Supa Modo”, also added that the film was a way to explore grief.
“Through Anam, a mourner who guides others while shutting down her own pain, I wanted to explore grief as a ritual, a burden and an inheritance. I also aimed to bring Death to life, not as a distant concept, but as an intimate presence within communal mourning. This film is my attempt to capture the complex dance between death and grief and the dangers of postponing emotional truth.”
‘Anam’s Wake’ stars an exceptional Kenyan cast including Marima Wanjiru (Anam), Samson Omondi, Peter Kawa (Mason Ebale), Vanessa Okeyo (Amani Ebale), Ruth Apondi (Aunt Kavata) and Pras Jadi (Kwame Ebale), Gathoni Mutua (Zuri Ebale) and Brenda Ngeso (Nyawira).
According to the film synopsis, “the film follows Anam, a professional mourner trained to summon Death and negotiate the passage of souls. Though skilled in guiding others through loss, Anam remains emotionally numb after her mother’s death sixteen years ago. When tasked with her first solo ritual at the influential Ebale family home, what begins as a solemn wake spirals into a chilling ordeal.”
Echoing Mr Wainaina’s sentiments on grief, Ms Njoroge, who serves as producer, says the story is still firmly rooted in African culture.
“Anam’s Wake is the kind of film I entered this industry to make, deeply rooted in African culture yet universal in its themes. It is a story about grief, family secrets, identity and a young woman navigating the tension between tradition and her own path,” Ms Njoroge says. “What drew me to the project was its trust in silence and the emotional weight carried in what remains unsaid.”
“Taxi Driver” and “Wolf of Wall Street” director, Martin Scorsese, has been named Jury President of the African Short Film Competition, scheduled to take place from July 31 to August 1 as part of the Diani Film Festival.
Mr Scorsese, who has shaped global cinema for five decades, will make a virtual address at the Alliance Francaise in Mombasa on August 1 during the African Short Film Competition award ceremony, according to organisers.
The African Short Film category is expected to feature both established and emerging directors, all vying for the opportunity to showcase their work on local and international platforms.
Media personality Adelle Onyango is among the filmmakers shortlisted in the category for her work on “Home.” Reacting to the news that Scorsese would be the category’s Jury President, she said: “This is so exciting! So honoured that ‘Home’ is a nominee!”.
Nyali Cinemax will screen the 11 African short films in competition for the two top prizes, Best Film and Best Kenyan Film, on July 31, starting at 4 pm, ahead of the award ceremony.
The larger festival will take place from July 24 to August 3 and will feature a number of events across Mombasa and Nairobi. The second edition of the festival is meant to celebrate cinema and African culture.
The opening night will take place on Friday, July 24, at the Safari Beach and will include an official launch address made by the Kenya Film Commission CEO Timothy Owase.
Fans of Afro Pop, soulful Afro RnB and Afro House are in for a treat come September as event organisers Crispy Life plan for Peaches and Cream set for September 26 at Ngong Racecourse.
Marketed as an event for Millennials and Gen Z’s who enjoy “soulful African music” and yearn for “daytime music experiences where they can socialise comfortably and express personal style without the intensity of a nightclub environment”, it is expected to bring together Nairobi’s top Afro Pop musicians.
So far the lineup includes Nikita Kering’, Xenia Manasseh, Njerae, Bridget Blue, Watendawili, Kethan and Ochiko.
Speaking about the event, Dickson Matata, founder of Crispy Life Events, said they have been building toward such an event for years.
“Peaches & Cream is exactly what we have been wanting to build for years. Live performances by Africa’s finest rnb & pop acts, all under the Nairobi Sun,” he said. “You get the best of both worlds: live performances in the afternoon and early evening, then Afro‑House DJs as the sun goes down.”
Crispy Life Events is also responsible for the popular Millennial event dubbed Rhythm and Blues, whose main selling point is nostalgia. They hope their new endeavour will fill a gap for Nairobians.
“The whole experience is designed to feel effortless from the sound to the seating to the food and drinks,” added Mr Matata. “We are building from the success of Rhythm & Brunch and Millennials Cookout, and giving Nairobi something it does not have right now.”
As twin sisters Taiwo and Kehinde Adediran walked down the aisle arm in arm with their father at a church in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria, to tie the knot with twin brothers Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye, guests rose from their seats, lifting smartphones to capture what many described as a once-in-a-lifetime wedding.
“Twins marrying twins, really? This is my first time seeing this!” shouted a passerby outside the church as crowds gathered around the newlyweds for photographs after the ceremony.
For many attending, the union of Taiwo and Kehinde with Taiwo and Kehinde felt almost too perfectly symmetrical to be real.
“We have always wanted to marry together and to marry twins,” said Taiwo Oguntoye, beaming after the ceremony. “And by the special grace of God, it happened. I am so happy to marry the love of my life!”
When Taiwo and Kehinde met Taiwo and Kehinde
Both sets of twins are from Ibadan, in a region famous for its unusually high number of twin births.
The brothers, known locally as the Oguntoye Twins, have built careers around promoting twin culture.
Active in tourism and cultural initiatives, they are the founders of Twins World Creations and initiators of Twin Tourism, celebrating the region’s twins.
Their love story began years ago, when a professor at the University of Ibadan told the brothers she knew a pair of twin sisters they should meet.
The four became friends, but when the brothers suggested taking the relationship further, the sisters were unconvinced.
“We said no, we don’t want to date twins!” said bride Kehinde Adediran, laughing.
The friendship faded. Years later, the brothers reached out again.
This time, the answer was different.
Symmetry
In Yoruba culture, twins hold a special place.
Regardless of gender, the first-born twin is traditionally named Taiwo, while the second-born is called Kehinde.
It is common to see twins dressed alike from childhood, sometimes down to matching shoes, jewellery and accessories.
That sense of twinning shaped every moment of the wedding weekend.
During Friday’s traditional engagement ceremony, the couples appeared in matching red outfits as relatives danced around piles of gifts, from yams and drinks to fabrics and suitcases, presented by the grooms’ family to the brides’.
Wedding portraits were carefully choreographed, as guests repeatedly stopped to compare the similarities between the siblings, who are in their early 40s.
The Oguntoye brothers are fraternal twins, while the Adediran sisters are identical twins.
On Saturday, the celebration moved from church pews to a sprawling Yoruba “owambe” reception.
Smoke machines filled the entrance as the couples emerged through flashing lights to cheers and a sea of raised smartphones.
Among the guests were dozens of fellow twins.
“I’ve always wished to marry a twin as well,” laughed Kehinde Akanji, 26, a friend of the grooms attending with his own twin brother. “It’s our first time seeing something like this.”
For Dupe Aduroja Giwa, the Alaga, the master of ceremonies of the traditional wedding, a lifetime of nuptials had not prepared her for this one.
“Twins from the same family marrying twins from the same family?” she said. “I have never seen this in my life. It is a privilege to be part of it.”
After all, it is not every day that one Taiwo marries another Taiwo, and one Kehinde marries another Kehinde.
Zimbabwean author Sue Nyathi, best known for her novel ‘The Polygamist’, has said she is working hard to make legitimate copies of her book available through a legitimate distributor in Kenya.
The author made the comments after she saw bootleg versions of her book being sold in Nairobi following a rise in demand after the premiere of the Netflix adaptation of the same name.
The Netflix series has been at the top of the Top 10 list in Kenya and in 12 other countries, including Romania, Slovakia, The Bahamas, Jamaica, Nigeria, South Africa and more.
Taking to social media, Ms Nyathi warned her followers about the pirated copies being sold on Ronald Ngala street, urging them not to participate in piracy.
“I know the book is in demand and I’m working to make it available there through a reputable supplier,” she said. “Copyright infringement is a crime. Don’t support the violation!”
The author’s comments have since sparked debate in the publishing community, with many noting that Nairobi “has a pirating problem.”
Echoing Ms Nyathi’s comments, Kenyan author Sakwah Ongoma said it “hurts’ to find pirated African books.
“Kenya has a book piracy problem. The government knows. Pirated books are sold openly on the streets of Nairobi,” Mr Ongoma said. “It hurts me the most when I find African books pirated on the streets of Nairobi.”
While no Kenyan distributor is currently authorised to sell the book, an original copy of ‘The Polygamist’ is available to purchase on Amazon for Ksh. 1,124.14
The Kenya Copyright Board, the State Corporation established under the Copyright Act to administer and enforce copyright and related rights in Kenya, has urged Ms Nyathi to file an official complaint in order to curb the piracy of her book.
Nigerian music star Yemi Alade has opened up about her latest collaboration with Kenyan singer Bien, describing their new song “Don’t Be Shy” as a celebration of honesty, connection and confidence.
Speaking about the track, which was released via Effyzzie Music, Yemi said working with Bien felt natural and allowed both artists to express a playful side of their artistry.
“I have always loved the soulfulness of Bien’s music, and working with him on this record was so easy. Music has always been about emotion and connection for me.”
She says that the song, which blends Afropop, R&B, and Kompa, is also “playful” and “honest”.
“And I feel like in ‘Don’t Be Shy’ we are both being playful, confident and honest, in expressing feelings when you’re into someone,” Yemi adds. “It’s a great jam to dance to, but also warm and intimate. I hope you all love it as much as we do.”
Produced by Nigerian producer De Yaso alongside Kenyan producer Kobby Worldwide, “Don’t Be Shy” explores the attraction between two people who are unafraid to express their feelings, combining smooth melodies with an upbeat groove designed for the dancefloor.
Bien echoed Yemi’s sentiments, saying the collaboration came together effortlessly.
“Working with Yemi was an incredible experience because the energy felt natural from the beginning. ‘Don’t Be Shy’ is about confidence, chemistry and enjoying the moment. We want you to just feel good and loosen up when this song comes on,” he said.
The collaboration continues a creative partnership that stretches back to Yemi Alade and Sauti Sol’s hit collaboration “Africa”.
Since then, the pair have worked together on several projects, including Yemi’s Swahili version of “Nagode” and her contribution to the remix package of Bien’s “All My Enemies Are Suffering”.
“Don’t Be Shy” also offers the first preview of Yemi Alade’s forthcoming self-titled album, IT’S YEMI ALADE, which is expected later this year.
The project will mark her eleventh music release and arrives ahead of a major showcase in Paris, France.
Clive Davis was an empathetic executive whose expertise transcended genres; he displayed an uncanny ability to spin talent into gold. Aretha Franklin once called him “the greatest record man of all time.”
“Clive has the mind of a bank executive and the ears of a teenager,” said Davis protege Barry Manilow, the singer-songwriter known for “Copacabana” and other easy listening hits.
A lawyer by education, Davis entered the music world as counsel at Columbia Records before shifting into management and, in 1966, becoming president of the reorganised CBS Records.
It marked the start of a career that would come to define the modern music industry.
From Janis Joplin to Earth, Wind & Fire, Aerosmith to Billy Joel, Patti Smith to Alicia Keys, Davis discovered, mentored and catapulted an empire of artists to household name status, reigning for decades in a business where longevity is rare.
Grateful Dead singer Bob Weir even sometimes changed a lyric when performing the band’s standard “Jack Straw” to honour Davis.
“We used to play for acid,” he’d sing. “Now we play for Clive.”
Born April 4, 1932, in Brooklyn, Davis enjoyed music but did not see it as his professional future.
“The emphasis in Jewish families that did not have any money was that you’ve got to be a lawyer, or you’ve got to be a doctor,” Davis said in the documentary “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives.”
“I was going to be a lawyer, with no clue what being a lawyer meant.”
He was a New York University student when personal tragedy struck: Davis’s mother died suddenly, and then his father passed within the following year.
He graduated from Harvard Law School and began working at a New York law firm. His move to CBS subsidiary Columbia Records as legal counsel proved pivotal.
“I knew nothing about music. I knew nothing about what awaited me,” said Davis. “But I did seize that opportunity.”
‘Weakness for artists’
Legends Miles Davis and Clive Davis
CBS executives ultimately convinced him to change from law into management, and Davis took an interest in the burgeoning world of folk and rock.
He attended the storied Monterey Pop Festival, an experience he later described as life-changing.
Awestruck by Joplin and the social and musical revolution she embodied, Davis signed her that night.
He worked with Bob Dylan as well as Simon and Garfunkel, convincing the duo that the soft, melodic “Bridge Over Troubled Water” could be a radio hit, though it was far from the sounds on the airwaves at the time.
And Davis returned a demo to a young Springsteen, telling him it still needed a hit single.
So the rocker went to the beach and penned “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night” in a single evening.
“That was a good call,” Springsteen has joked.
Davis encouraged jazz legend Miles Davis, who came to the executive furious that young white artists were profiting off styles pioneered by Black musicians like himself, to play rock venues.
Shortly thereafter, the trailblazing trumpeter released “Bitches Brew,” a seminal, rock-imbued album.
Davis had a “weakness for artists,” said another groundbreaking musician, Patti Smith, a Davis favourite who he signed to the record company he would eventually found, Arista.
Whitney, his ultimate star
Whitney Houston and Clive Davis
Davis struck out on his own after CBS Records fired him in 1973, on charges, which Davis denied, of bankrolling personal expenses, including his son’s bar mitzvah.
Arista, which Davis started in 1974, featured stars including Manilow, Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Keys, The Kinks and Lou Reed.
And he made the eyebrow-raising decision to throw his weight behind Kenny G, convincing radio stations to play the solo saxophonist’s music among pop songs.
Davis also forged a deal with Sean Combs, the mogul known as “Diddy,” who is now in prison on prostitution-related charges, to start Bad Boy Records, one of hip-hop’s foundational labels.
But for all the stars he launched, it was Davis’s mentorship of Whitney Houston that would prove among the most significant.
She became one of the best-selling artists ever and a great voice of her generation under his guidance, before her shocking death on the day of one of Davis’s famed pre-Grammy galas.
It was another of the mogul’s great personal tragedies.
“The loss of Whitney came about as suddenly as the loss of my parents,” Davis said. “And profoundly reminded me how quickly and immediately vitally important people in your life can just disappear.”
Party of the year
Married and divorced twice, Davis had four children, and publicly came out as bisexual in his autobiography.
After another skirmish with CBS over Arista and several more shake-ups and mergers in the industry, Davis landed the title of Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music Entertainment, where he remained into his later years.
His career was not without critics: an industry joke held that Davis’s ego was so large he thought CDs were named after him.
But he was a music mainstay for well over half a century.
But for all the stars he launched, it was Davis’s mentorship of Whitney Houston that would prove among the most significant.
A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with an armful of Grammys, Davis for decades hosted a splashy signature pre-Grammy galas.
The bash remained one of the most coveted tickets in showbiz and included a private variety show put on by A-listers.
“Clive’s Grammy parties, it’s kind of more than just a party… it’s kind of a historical event,” said Berry Gordy, the storied founder of Motown Records.
Davis refused to retire.
“I don’t continue to do things to prove a point,” he told Rolling Stone in 2021. “I just do what I always did.”
