Author: NLM Correspondent

By Edwin Musonye and Patrick Musindi The word referendum has been made to mean-constitution modifying process. In most laymen (and even expert) discussions, there is intimation that modifying the document by the popular initiative must involve the referendum exercise. But, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, the plebiscite is the furthest last resort. Going by a commonplace opinion, the document is 20 percent faulty. Unfortunately, the defective provisions are unknown. Therefore, concerned parties suggest arbitrary issue – those peculiar only to them. Determining what will be universally accepted as being the ‘real’ inadequacy, in our humble estimation, may…

By Tioko Ekiru Emmanuel One of the biggest shifts that occurred in Kenya upon the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 was the huge endorsement of our own traditions and ideas. The belief was that the painful pre-2010 era of corruption, torture, human rights abuses, executive highhandedness and formalistic reasoning had been brought to an end. Sadly, the change doesn’t seem as profound or obvious where court room attire is concerned. Wigs, robes and gowns are objects to be worshipped in many Anglophone countries. Sadly, the attire carries a colonial spectacle which goes against the constitutional tandem and embodiment…

BY Wafula Wakoko To both the Pharaoh and the Israelites, the Constitution of Kenya should mean something. In as much as it may not morph into food on our tables, the law must certainly protect us from elements that wish to steal our food, our means to obtain food and our ability eat. The Executive’s determination to trample on our laws has in the recent past seemed unhindered. Like the proverbial rainmaker, it has unapologetically showcased when rain can reign. It’s a phenomenon that it has manifested throughout the ages. It is for this reason that the Lockean Social Contract…

The “Africa Rising” narrative has been hinged on the continent’s middle class—but the methods used to define the size of that population has been inconsistent to say the least. In its The Middle of the Pyramid report in 2011, the Africa Development Bank defined the middle class as persons with yearly incomes exceeding $3,900 (or a per capital expenditure of $2 to $20 day) while the World Bank broadly defines middle-class as those who earn $12 to $15 per day. The oft-cited pitfall of using fixed income cut-offs to define the middle class is that it leaves no room for…

By David Onjili The 2018 Doing Business Report by the World Bank was released on October 31, 2018 by Felipe Jaramillo, the World Bank country director. Present were several business leaders including the Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Peter Munya. In the report Kenya “made great progress”, improving 19 positions from 80th to 61st. The country made significant progress by carrying out key reforms in several areas, according to the report, including in registering property, accessing credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes and resolving insolvency. The World Bank highlighted these strides which it noted as being fundamental in…

By Jim Holland A new age is dawning. For big companies, the oncoming era will require new skill sets, technologies, alignments and business models. It will force them to globally reinvent and restructure entire systems of production, management and governance. It will require intelligent transformation. According to industry analyst IDC, annual spending on digital transformation initiatives in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region is predicted to surpass $38 billion by 2021 (Sh3.9 trillion), accelerated by the large-scale adoption of third-platform technologies such as cloud, big data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Virtual Reality, etc.…

By NLM Writer There is no dispute that the current business environment in the country is harsh. This is because policy makers have taken the ill-advised stance that businesses flourish on their own effort without cultivation and support. However, the reality is that there is a science behind increasing the success rates of businesses operating in country or a region. Utilising the rules of the game ensures businesses that are starting and those already running get the highest chance of not just surviving but also thriving. Any progressive government appreciates the role that prosperous enterprises play in helping the country…

BY ANTONY MUTUNGA Through the years China, has built increasingly strong economic ties with Africa. Trade between the two has increased from Sh78.4 billion ($765 million) in 1978 to Sh17.4 trillion ($170 billion) in 2017. This relationship has seen China shift from a small investor to become the largest economic partner to Africa. Additionally, China has also increased its financial assistance to the continent, helping in its development projects. In fact according to the China Africa Research Initiative, from 2000 to 2017 China extended loans worth Sh14.6 trillion ($143 billion) to African governments and their state owned enterprises. This increased…

By Tioko Ekiru Emmanuel “Everyone has a right to peaceful coexistence, the basic personal freedoms, the alleviation of suffering, and the opportunity to lead a productive life” – Jimmy Carter, 39th US President “Who are our people? Where is their habitat? What, in human terms, does justice mean to them? How can law and its administration, through conventional court processes, fulfill the hunger for the common man for simple, quick justice, which assures him a fair share of the good things of life? By what means does the law in the books communicate with life in raw? Can the gap…

By Justice George Vincent Odunga I first want to thank the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya Chapter, for conferring this honour upon me. It is an honour I do not take as a personal contribution, but as a collective contribution of the Judiciary of Kenya to the advancement of the Rule of Law. Since the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, several judicial officers have borne the brunt of other arms of Government due to judicial pronouncements arising from the decisions regarding the interpretation and the application of the Constitution. In my respectful view, a great deal of these…