Author: NLM Correspondent

BY NLM WRITER A survey by Transparency International conducted in 2001 ranked the Kenyan Judiciary as the sixth most corrupt public institution in Kenya. In it, a large number of Kenyans who, in one way or another, seek out the services of the Judiciary admitted that they have been in circumstances where they had been asked to pay a bribe. The problem was not only that the Judiciary was corrupt; it was then also considered as hostage to the Executive, where judges were handpicked by the ruling administration. This made it extremely difficult to find independent judges. Eugene Cotran, a Briton who…

By Shadrack Muyesu The decision by Justice Jessie Lessit in ‘Republic v Zacharia Okoth Obado’ [2018] eKLR has to go down as one of the most ludicrous this year. In dismissing the bail application of Migori Governor Zachariah Okoth Obado, while the Court reaffirmed the onus of the Prosecution to prove presence of compelling reasons to deny bail, it took a step back to deny bail in the absence of witness statements and other relevant evidence. In essence, by punishing the applicant for the Prosecution’s failure to avail evidence on time, the Court disregarded the pristine principle of innocence till…

By Dr Willy M. Mutunga The Constitution decrees institutional and decisional independence of both the Judiciary and judicial officers. It does this by (a) decreeing the setting up the Judiciary Fund – to guarantee financial independence from the Executive and Parliament; (b) providing for the recruitment of women and men of integrity; (c) providing for the vetting of judicial officers recruited before the promulgation of the Constitution on August 27, 2010; and (d) setting up an independent Judiciary Service Commission, to oversee the recruitment and disciplinary proceedings against judicial officers and staff. It cannot be denied that the Judiciary continues…

These are remarks made by Fred Ojiambo, MBS, SC, on the occasion of the inaugural sitting of the new Chief Justice, Hon. Mr Justice David Maraga, on Monday November 14, 2016 at the Supreme Court Building, Nairobi “Salutations. My Lord, the Chief Justice, the Hon Mr Justice David Maraga, and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya, My Lady, Deputy Chief Justice, Lady Justice Philomena Mwilu, My Lords and Lady, Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court of Kenya, all protocols observed: I appear in these proceedings, upon the invitation of your Lordship, the Chief Justice, in my capacity as Chairman…

By Fuad Abdirahman Kenya police officers manning the porous Kenya-Somalia border allowed and facilitated the entry of Al-Shabaab operatives – with the intention of launching a complex attack in Nairobi – into the country, The Somalia Report 2018, released in November by the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), reveals. The militiamen passed infiltrated the Somali police as well by paying bribes, the report says, and points to the “warm relationship” between the terrorists and Kenyan officials by consistently receiving money and other forms of gifts from the group. Kenyan police arrested six members of the terror group tasked with…

By Antony Mutunga As far as history dates, agriculture has propped up Africa’s economy – where the majority of its people lead rural, agrarian lives – in a way other sectors haven’t. In fact, the sector is the largest contributor to the continent’s gross domestic product – at 15 percent, according to the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development)-FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025. The continent has vast tracts of arable land, most of them unfarmed. Tropical climates, which bring about long growing seasons, and a growing population that both provides a massive young…

BY KEN OPALA Two simultaneous happenings on the elections day are telling. First, in the deep of the night of August 8, hours after polling, IEBC started beaming “live” the presidential results. Unexpectedly, they were not accompanied by the statutory results forms. But that’s hardly all; the results showed a certain pattern that defied the uneven nature of Kenyan voters – they exhibited a consistent gap between top two contestants, Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. In panic IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati hurriedly convened a stakeholders’ meeting at the National Tallying Centre (NTC), Nairobi, to seek answers from Safran about this…

BY KEN OPALA Elections, just like wars, are huge business. Unscrupulous individuals seize the confusion, disruptions and desperation during political determinations to make quick money. Sleaze circumvents order and corruption fuels electoral theft. Bureaucrats mandated with delivering credible elections get compromised in exchange for monetary rewards in form of tender manipulations. The scent for quick riches gives electoral management bureaucrats impetus to steal elections. Election 2017 exposed this shadowy intersection of politics, finance and electoral dishonesty. The Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, was desperate to be re-elected, Opposition leader Raila Odinga was surging in fame, and pollsters were predicting a race…

By Emeka-Mayaka Gekara There are feminists. And then there is Dr Stella Nyanzi. The online community describes her as “the only man standing in Uganda.” When officials attempted to lock the Makerere University researcher out of her office, she stripped naked in protest. Nyanzi caused so much ruckus that the university administration had no option but to re-open the office. The Ugandan activist’s manner of social protests have thrust her in trouble, but she remains unbowed and relentless despite hostility from the Yoweri Museveni regime. She is no doubt one Museveni’s most acerbic critics. She recently spent 33 days in…

By David Onjili In a liberal democracy, an Opposition exists to shadow government and provide alternative programme for official policy. For the past decade and half, this is what Raila Odinga has done, save for crafting a shadow government. But no more. For Raila, whose current job as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa, keeps him busy with not just national but also international affairs, it is a welcome break from the trenches. Besides the job, his new found camaraderie with President Kenyatta under the ‘Building Bridges Initiative’ has left the country without an opposition leader.…