Author: NLM Correspondent

Former US president Barack Obama famously had a wardrobe full of identical suits. As a world leader, life presents more than enough big decisions—Obama’s reasoning was that it made sense to minimise the complexity of the small decisions. Artists are often thought of as rather different. Francis Bacon, for example, had a tempestuous personal life, a notoriously chaotic studio, and a penchant for late nights at London’s seedier drinking clubs. Yet even Bacon’s working habits were surprisingly regular—usually starting work at first light with strong tea, before heading out around midday for his first glass of champagne. Lab decisions We…

By Shadrack Muyesu In a most curious decision, The Supreme Court of India struck a devastating blow for proponents of simple English when it set aside a High Court verdict decrying its incomprehensible language. In a short but terse judgment for an appeal arising out of the impugned decision of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh (of India) in Sarla Sood and Ors vs Pawan Kumar Sharma CR No. 184/2011, the Court observed, “After hearing learned counsel, it is not possible to comprehend the contents of the impugned order passed by the High Court.” It then returned the matter to…

What do you need to know if you are given the power of attorney? You make decisions for the Principal (the person who appoints you) when it is no longer possible for him/her to make decisions or carry out property and financial tasks on the Principal’s behalf. What can you do? You can make decisions and take actions in relation to property and finances, healthcare, personal care and medical research matters. Your obligations You are in a relationship of trust and confidence with your Principal. You must act honestly, carefully and in the best interests of the Principal and exercise…

By Wafula Wakoko If history and the writings of theologian Martin Niemöller taught us anything, it is that the law ought to protect the powerless. Those of us who’ve been afforded capacity to use logic have a duty to make conversations centring on the protection of minorities commonplace. Not because we shall soon need protection from someone, and we well may, but because we have been blessed with reason. The doorstep phenomenon – I will only shout if it affects me directly – is the force behind normalised infringement of rights. Let us shout now. A glance at history paints…

By Shadrack Muyesu On June 8, 2018, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court overturned a 2016 decision that had found Congolese warlord and former vice president, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Bemba had been in ICC detention since his arrest in Belgium in 2008. After a trial that lasted almost four years, the ICC’s Trial Chamber III found him liable under the theory of command responsibility for his failure to prevent and punish the criminal behaviour of his troops, who committed rape, murder, and pillage while in the Central African Republic. The Appeals…

By Prof Makau Mutua Its checkered history notwithstanding, the rule of law remains a pillar of good governance. It has evolved over time to contain within it the core values of human rights. Over time, the understanding of the concept – including its normative reach, scope, and content – has become more sophisticated. Soon after Africa’s independence, cadres of Western academics and policy-makers believed that Africa’s new states would be “civilised” by the rule of law. Western thought viewed pre-colonial Africa as pre-law, and thus argued that emergent states needed formal Western legal regimes to enter modernity. No credit was…

By TNLM Writer The International Energy Agency puts the current electrification rate in sub-Saharan Africa at just 43 percent. The inference here is clear: greater action must be taken to achieve the international community’s goals of universal electricity access. Although there are positive developments taking place across the continent, there are also a number of key challenges that beset transformation of the sector. Energy outlook Sub-Saharan Africa currently has a total installed generation capacity of 122 gigawatts (GW), and accounts for 4.5 percent of global primary energy demand (the equivalent of 619 million tonnes of oil) according to the IEA…

A chain of countries winning independence has created a continent cut into pieces by borders, which now need to be overcome. Behind these borders economic thinking focuses only on a national level, which is far too restricted a scope for mass markets to emerge. And along with geographical borders come a number of other barriers, such as tariffs, taxation, customs and regulations. Encouraging growth rates seen over the last 15 years remain too weak to respond to the needs of a market representing 1.3bn people. The demographic potential is there, but a vast gulf exists between the current state of affairs…

Jack Ma’s sermon to entrepreneurs Ali Baba founder Jack Ma last month officially launching the Netpreneur prize in South Africa, a $10 million competition for tech innovators. The prize will “further [Africa’s] digital economy through local entrepreneurship.” The competition will host an annual pitching session, awarding $1 million in prize money over ten years. Ma drew on his own story of trying to launch an e-commerce company on achingly slow bandwidth in China 19 years ago. He recalled trying to register an internet company when the concept itself seemed unfathomable. He sees a similar environment in Africa. IEBC to adopt…

By Carlos Mureithi  and Lee Mwiti Worried about being up to its ears in debt, Kenya’s government wants to hire experts to manage its borrowing, local media has reported. National Treasury data shows Kenya owes China 72% of its bilateral debt. But bilateral debt is just a part of a country’s external debt. Much of Kenya’s borrowing in recent years has been from China, US-based news website Quartz, said in a July 2018 article. But does China account for nearly three-quarters of the money Kenya owes foreign lenders, as Quartz alleged? Quartz said its source was an article in the…