Author: NLM Editor

In May 2019, a data breach affected more than 11.5 million Safaricom subscribers; Safaricom employees carried it out. After a whistle-blower, Mr Benard Kabugi, reported the matter to Safaricom and the police, a sting operation was conducted that helped identify and arrest the perpetrators, with the whistle-blower, Benedict Kabugi, variously treated as a prosecution witness and afterwards as part of the ring that stole subscriber data. At the behest of Safaricom, Mr Kabugi was arrested and charged in court for ‘demanding hundreds of millions of shillings’ as bounty hunting fees. Miffed by this turn of events, Mr Kabugi filed a…

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By NLM Writer Safaricom overlooked red flags while rogue staff stole data of some 11.5 million subscribers to trade the same with a famous sports gaming company, according to court documents that the Nairobi Law Monthly has obtained in the ongoing criminal and civil cases. The documents also reveal that the destination of the massive data was Pevans East Africa, a sports betting firm that trades as SportPesa, though the deal it appears did not come to fruition. The civil and criminal cases reveal a leak that could have been prevented, a sports betting firm’s hand and how Safaricom fumbled…

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By Prof John Harbeson At the beginning of March, the United Nations General Assembly voted 141 to 5 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It demanded the immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine. Twenty-five sub-Saharan African delegations voted for the resolution, including Kenya, Djibouti, and Somalia from the Horn of Africa region. Of the nearly one-third of the UN delegations that did not support this resolution, twenty-five African sub-Saharan delegations were among thirty-five abstained, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Eight African countries did not vote at all, including Ethiopia. Eritrea voted against the resolution joining…

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By Shadrack Wanjala Nasong’o Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki, who died at the age of 90, was born on November 15, 1931, in Othaya, Nyeri, in the central highlands of Kenya. He spent a lifetime in public service. He served as president of Kenya – the third after independence – from 2002 to 2013, a critical period in Kenya’s transition from a one-party state to democracy. He also served as the fourth vice-president (1978 to 1988) under President Daniel arap Moi. To his friends and admirers, Kibaki was a gentleman who survived the murky Kenyan politics unscathed. The qualities he was…

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By Enoch Randy Aikins As emerging powers in the international system, Turkey and Russia are frequently in strict competition for influence in global affairs. This same competition extends to the African continent. From the Horn of Africa to Libya, Russia and Turkey are vying for increased resource trade, fighting for new consumer markets, and searching for influence as “partners” with African nations. In the renewed concourse for Africa, these two powers have sought to augment their position in regional resource and energy markets, making use of the continent’s strategic military value in establishing government-level partnerships, holding military exchanges with local…

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By David Wanjala There was public uproar recently when the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions announced that it would prioritise cases dealing with sexual and gender-based violence, terrorism and financing and those that directly impact elections over corruption-related cases heading into the August 9 General Election. Prosecuting leaders suspected of corruption, DPP Noordin Haji added, will not bar them from contesting, and challenged voters to look into the aspirants whose cases are still under investigation in Court and those named by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and make informed decisions. The ODPP, in essence, suspended prosecuting, for now,…

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The English philosopher and lecturer, Sir Alfred Ayer, writing in “Language, Truth, and Logic” during the interwar period while teaching at Oxford University, noted in the prevailing public discourse of the day that moral statements were “nothing more than expressions of approval and disapproval”. In so describing the moral vacuum of Britain’s rudderless and misguided 1930s, he unwittingly also accurately described today’s Kenya. Britain’s preferred national ideology was bizarre defeatism in the face of the terror then rising in Nazi Germany. Kenya today, not unlike Britain then, is in a frightful state of existence: a national denial that, on closer…

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As Kenya gears up for its general election in August, the safety of politicians is coming under scrutiny. But there is optimism that there will be no repeat of the violence that defined the 2007 elections. The run-up to Kenyan elections, such as the August 9, 2022, general election, carries a certain sense of foreboding for aspiring politicians and their staff. Winning an election may be the goal, but facing threats, kidnappings, assault, and even death is not out of the question. Recently, Kisii politician Thomas Okari was found dead with stab wounds at his home in Kisii County near…

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The government has protested a move by the US to list Kenya as a signatory to a declaration for the future of the Internet, terming it as erroneous. Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said protocol was not followed in the signing of the declaration aimed to protect an open, safe internet. “While we are listed as a signatory to the declaration, we wish to state that, as a country, we have not gone through our processes and laws for endorsing this declaration. As per our laws, Kenya can only be a signatory to any international instrument after Cabinet approval and ratification…

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Meta and Sama, its main subcontractor for content moderation in Africa, face a lawsuit in Kenya over alleged unsafe and unfair working conditions if they fail to meet 12 demands on workplace conditions brought before them. Nzili and Sumbi Advocates, the law firm representing Daniel Motaung, a former Sama employee who was laid off for organizing a strike in 2019 over poor working conditions and pay, in a demand letter, accused the subcontractor of violating various rights, including that of health and privacy of Kenyan and international staff. “Facebook subcontracts most of this work to companies like Sama – a…

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