Author: NLM Correspondent

By Hogan Lovells With billions pumped into infrastructure, energy, commodities and technology, some industries are under-served. To plug the liquidity gap, the global debt market continues to see a shift from conventional bank lending to alternative forms of funding – ranging from debt funds to debt capital markets issuances. Is this trend sustainable in Africa? Development finance institutions (DFIs) and multilaterals have historically held a solid lending track record across the continent but to what future impact? Are commercial banks being squeezed out as a result? Alternative lending in the corporate context can include a wide interpretation to include non-banking…

Kenya’s latest Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) score for Quarter 3, 2018 has dropped a steep 10 points, since the previous quarter, to 94, revealing a volatile consumer mindset and underlying uncertainties. “Consumer confidence was upbeat at the beginning of the year. This was due to the political situation settling down, GDP strengthening and the country emerging out of a period of drought. However, since no major impact has been felt on ground, consumers are readjusting their expectations. This, coupled with the recent increase in fuel prices, led to a surge in the cost of consumable commodities and the prolonged cold season…

By Hashim Mude The ruling by the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCoK) in ‘R v Ahmad Abdolfathi Mohammed & Another’ marks the latest twist in this dramatic trial whose facts read very much like a script from an action thriller. Tales of explosives in golf courses, secret counter-terrorism ops, torture and undercover agents paints a picture of a Hollywood blockbuster rather than a work of non-fiction. This is a case which originated from the trial and conviction of two Iranian nationals before the magistrate’s court for various offences relating to terrorism. They unsuccessfully appealed to the High Court but were…

By Ndung’u Wainaina The Kenya Private Sector Association (KEPSA) held a national anti-corruption conference last month. The conference brought together the different sectors, to discuss the measures to be implemented within their sectors to fight corruption internally and externally. The deliberations, it is envisioned, will lead to an amalgamation of the different strategies into a Grand Citizen-and-Sector-led Action Plan to combat corruption. Corruption is the most neglected human rights violation of our time. It fuels injustice, inequality and depravation, and is a major catalyst for migration and terrorism. This theft cheats Africa’s governments out of $50bn every year, which is…

By NLM WRITER The management of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) knowingly connived to have President Uhuru Kenyatta launch an incomplete oil jetty in Kisumu, it has emerged. In one of the many massive fraud instances perpetrated by senior managers and board members, KPC knowingly oversaw the construction of a contraption that does not meet internationally recommended standards.  According to revelation by experts, it will take at least another half a billion shillings worth of renovation for the Kisumu Oil jetty to be functional and export oil to Uganda’s oil jetty, which is already complete and scheduled to be launched…

By David Onjili “If it is for sentiment and reward for his loyalty to both the party of choice in Luo Nyanza, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and to Raila Odinga, then Senator James Orengo should be our direct candidate for Siaya Governor. But for development, and in the spirit of the Building Bridges Initiative, Raphael Tuju is our choice… He is our son, and you do not desert your own. My message to him is to be humble and respectful to both the people of Nyanza and Mr Odinga. This does not imply that we want a yes-man – look…

By Emeka-Mayaka Gekara Women dangled bottles of champagne from their hands as they danced on streets of Abidjan, the Ivorian capital, way before judges of the International Criminal Court delivered their judgment on the case against Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé. Gbagbo’s supporters were almost certain that the case against their former President and Ble Goude, his former Youth minister, would collapse. The two were facing charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution allegedly committed during the 2010/2011 post-election violence. Nearly 3,000 people died in the uprising following Gbagbo’s defiant decision to cling to power though…

By David Onjili There exists, arguably, the notion amongst the Kikuyu elite that the community is entitled to the Presidency. To them, it is their birth right as has been argued variously by several commentators. As a community, they suppose that they fought and suffered most at the hands of our British colonisers. Conversely, the “rest” of the communities feel equally entitled because “Kenya belongs to 45 tribes, not one or two.” On the flip side, Kenya’s politics has been synonymous with betrayal. The Odinga family is the epitome of this. While to single out the family may narrow the…

By Joel Okwemba The realization that Kenya has fallen into China’s Debt Diplomacy is unfortunate. The idea that such profound contracts and investments would be made without robust public engagement or indirect public participation brings into question the role of state institutions in oversight of government operations. In light of this, the recent revelations of the gaps in the China-Kenya Standard Gauge Railway Contract by the dailies further suggest that the agreement goes beyond economic interests of Kenya, and that perhaps there could have been political interests at play noting the timing and context of the agreement. This cannot be…

By Shadrack Muyesu Muhammadu Buhari won Nigeria’s presidential elections in 2015 by promising that his military credentials gave him the edge on the war with Boko Haram. Four years later and staring at another election, his biggest boast remains the indignity of prematurely declaring the sect’s demise. As his generals scrambled to deliver something positive and as General Buhari himself struggled with ill health, Boko Haram has not only consolidated its northern base, but has also opened new frontiers in the south. Back in 2015, Buhari promised to defeat the vile sect by providing government forces with better equipment, more…