Author: NLM Correspondent

Prof Yash Ghai and Jill Cottrell-Ghai ‘Is [President] targeting Supreme Court?’ ‘They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe. Our great law enforcement professions MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB. If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death.’ ‘MPs renew attack on Judiciary ‘over constant meddling.’ ‘The judges are “divorced from reality” and are “hard-left activist judges.’ ‘Yet some judges seem to believe that they can ignore parliament’s wishes if they think that the procedures for parliamentary scrutiny have been ‘weak’. That appears actually to mean that they can ignore parliament when they…

By Prof Ben Sihanya The judiciary is in sharp focus.  President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), some legislators at the national and county levels and even some lawyers are increasingly attacking the judiciary and courts generally, as well as the Chief Justice (CJ) or the Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ), judges and magistrates specifically. Or they simply choose to ignore court orders. They allege easy bail and bond terms, other favourable decisions, and delays in criminal and civil cases, thereby affecting investors, donors…

Chronic shortages of power affect the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. Almost 620 million people—60 percent of the region’s population—lack access to electricity according to the African Development Bank. Even those who in theory have access face very high prices for insufficient and unreliable supplies. This lack of power matters: Countries with electrification rates of less than 80 percent consistently have a lower per-capita gross domestic product than other countries, and more power is crucial if Africa is to meet basic development goals. But how the situation improves is important, too. Should electrification focus on off-grid or on-grid solutions? Should it…

Thousands of older customers of the US pharmacy chain CVS spend the colder months of the year in warmer climes, migrating from homes in, say, Minnesota to winter pads in sunny Arizona or Florida. In the mid-2000s, CVS realised that many of its older pharmacy employees wanted to do the same thing. Rather than force older and more experienced workers to choose between retiring early to pursue the snowbird lifestyle or working through the winters in a place physically difficult to navigate, CVS started a programme that allows them to transfer temporarily to stores in warmer states during the winter.…

Dr. Tom Odhiambo It seems as if the term corruption no longer has the desired effect when used in conversation in Kenya. This is a dirty word. It should shock the hearer when uttered by someone. It should scare anyone to be labelled corrupt. The clergy should be using it in the same breath as fire and brimstone, leaving no doubt in the minds of the congregation that the physical body and soul of her or him who is found to be corrupt shall have no eternal peace. It should be the end of any pretence to personal integrity the…

If you have been dismissed and you think that the dismissal was unfair, you may find recourse in court. Where you believe your dismissal was based on discriminatory grounds (age, sex, race, disability, pregnancy, family or carer responsibilities etc.) or if it occurred because you exercised your workplace rights, you may be entitled to make a general protections application. This sort of application (which is also known as an “adverse action” claim). Made redundant? If you are employed under an award or an enterprise agreement, your employer is obliged to consult with you concerning any proposed redundancy. If your employer…

By Edwin Musonye It’s the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. That is the answer readily given to the question, ‘what are the [three] arms of government?’ So entrenched is the concept in our thinking that we never interrogate it even when have made changes ourselves. The answer also seems standard across many countries – as can be deduced from Google Search responses. However, the current situation may allow us to appreciate the separation of responsibilities among the branches of government differently. The most compelling viewpoint is that the responsibilities are shared out to the national and county government, and State organs.…

By nyambane N. Imprisonment at the President’s pleasure refers to detention in prison for an indefinite length of time. The length of such detention depends on the inmate’s conduct, and imprisonment terminates when the reviewing body reports to the Office of the President that there has been a significant change in the offender’s attitude and behaviour. This means that ‘imprisonment at the President’s pleasure’ can be very short, or it can be a life sentence if no decision is made after sentencing to end the term. Traditionally, the practice applies to minors and lunatics. Imprisonment at the President’s pleasure must…

By Newton Arori A preliminary objection refers to a point of law raised by a defendant, usually at the preliminary stage of a suit. If the court upholds the objection, that renders the rest of the proceedings impossible or unnecessary and consequently, the case will be dismissed. Locally, the leading authority on preliminary objections is the case of ‘Mukisa Biscuit Manufacturing Co. Ltd v West End Distributors Ltd (1969) EA 696’, where Justice Law rendered himself as follows: “A preliminary objection consists of a point of law which has been pleaded or which arises by clear implication out of pleadings and…

By Shadrack Muyesu Facts The petitioner was arrested on 14th February 2016 and charged at Senior Resident Magistrates Court, Mbita, on February 15 2016 with the offence of defilement contrary to Section 8(1) as read with 8(4) of the Sexual Offences Act. He faced an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child contrary to Section 11(1) of the same Act in Criminal Case No 7 of 2016. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and the matter proceeded to hearing where the complainant and a clinical officer testified – he was unrepresented. Later on the matter was…