Author: NLM Correspondent

By Joel Okwemba The pride of a people is judged by the level of diplomacy held by the state. In the recent past, there have been efforts by Kenya to secure important positions and promote certain agenda at the multi-lateral level – the African Union and the United Nations. A notable success however was that Kenya co-chaired and led the negotiation process that culminated to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals passed in September 2015. A pending and looming challenge is to secure the Non-Permanent Membership to the United Nation Security Council (2021-2022) as expressed by the Cabinet Secretary in…

Contracts are an important part of our lives. We need to sign them if we want to have a job, a place to live, medical services, insurance, a bank account, a loan, or to send our children to school. The list goes on. But, contracts always seem to be documents “written by lawyers for lawyers”. They are dense, complex and hard to read even if you’re very literate; and are largely impenetrable if you have low literacy skills. In addition, contracts are usually available only in English, a language spoken as a first language by only a minority people. How…

Robots, artificial intelligence, and driverless cars are no longer things of the distant future. They are with us today and will become increasingly common in coming years, along with virtual reality and digital personal assistants. As these tools advance deeper into everyday use, they raise the question—how will they transform society, the economy, and politics? If companies need fewer workers due to automation and robotics, what happens to those who once held those jobs and don’t have the skills for new jobs? And since many social benefits are delivered through jobs, how are people outside the workforce for a lengthy…

BY Tom Odhiambo The world celebrates the International Youth Day in the month of August every year. In many parts of the world governments and institutions doing work related to the youth plan several activities to celebrate youth hood. This year the focus was on ‘safe spaces for youth.’ In other words, can and do our youth live in neighbourhoods, go to school, walk streets, or play in grounds that are safe? What would the millions of children around the world who feel unsafe or whose lives have been made unsafe through the actions of adults tell us about life?…

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…