Author: NLM Correspondent

BY TOM ODHIAMBO When the World Press Freedom Day was marked last month, all over the world, journalists, activists, ordinary citizens and politicians attended seminars, marched in cities and listened to speeches extolling the virtues of journalism as well as decrying the dangers they face whilst working. Memorials were held for recently departed journalists such as those who were recently killed in Afghanistan. Many commentators seem to agree that journalists are an endangered species today. Journalists face serious challenges at work: Less or no money to fund their work. Editors who kill stories that would ‘harm’ the interests of media…

By Janek Sunga Every time I hear or see the word millennial in the Kenyan media, I groan and ache, sometimes quite audibly. Who are these so called millennials? Wametoka wapi? You see, this term is totally divorced from the Kenyan condition. In the United States, millennials are those considered to have been born in 1985-2000.  By the way those years are approximate, they might change depending on who you are talking to or reading. Those years are not significant enough in Kenya history, at least not 1985. American millennials have no characteristics in common with Kenyan millennials. Defining generations…

By Newton Arori An interlocutory injunction is a court order restraining a party from doing certain acts pending the determination of a case. It is a pre-trial remedy whose purpose is to maintain the status quo until the suit has been concluded. For example, suppose there is a dispute over the ownership of a car between X and Y, where X is currently in possession of the vehicle and is planning to customise it. Y may move to court and obtain an interlocutory injunction restraining X from making any modifications to the car until the ownership dispute is resolved. To…

By Edwin Musonye Amid talks of “time is ripe for amending Kenya’s constitution”, from a technical communicator’s standpoint, a matter of including 3D drafting in the schedules needs special consideration if incidences of misinterpretation are to be reduced, or even maybe completely eliminated. 3D drafting entails using graphical presentation to assist in visualising the concept at hand. Of course the drafters trained exclusively as legal writers may object because it somewhat alters the traditional appearance of documents. Whereas, we should sympathise with them and suggest that the graphical explanations be appended in the schedules – or be printed separately in…

By Hanan el Kathiri Anyone who is arrested for allegedly committing an offence has their rights protected under the provisions of the Constitution. Article 49 provides for these specific rights. Rights An arrested person has the right to be informed promptly, in a language they understand, the reason for the arrest, that they have the right to remain silent and the consequences of not remaining silent. They have a right to communicate with an advocate, and not to be compelled to make any confession or admission that could be used in evidence against the person; they also have a right…

By Shadrack Muyesu It is trite law that subsidiary legislation is inferior to the parent Act, and that where there is a conflict, subsidiary legislation should be construed to give effect to the Act or be voided to the extent of the inconsistency. By dint of this, advocates are allowed to tout and advertise. In fact, rule 2 The Advocates (Practice) Rules, 1966 has been deemed unconstitutional. Most emphatically, in ‘Okenyo Omwansa George & another v Attorney General & 2 others’, the High Court found that a complete ban on advertising by advocates such as that contained in Rule 2…

By Carolene Kituku Chapter 15 of the Constitution establishes constitutional commissions and independent offices. Their mandate is to protect the sovereignty of the people and secure the observance of democratic values and principles by all state organs. They also promote constitutionalism. Importantly, these commissions are only subject to the Constitution and the law, not to the direction or control by any person or authority. They ought to be independent while executing their mandate. It then follows that these commissions have been designated as the foundation of our democracy and constitutional supremacy. They act as the people’s watchdog. In terms of…

In 2015, one of the leading Plantation Management companies in the world ventured into the East Africa Region to invest in sustainable green projects. APC Group, with almost twenty years of proven success in sustainable plantation management in Asia, Europe and America, started its first operations in Africa, incorporating Africa Plantation Capital as the legal entity representing its interests in the region. Today, APC group successfully manages 173 plantations in Thailand, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the USA, and currently in Kenya. It also operates several nurseries, processing facilities and distilleries in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The winner of…

By Antony Mutunga The number of businesses in the world increases. As a direct result, this has seen many enter the business world with nothing in mind but the drive to make profit by any means possible. Which is very wrong. As everyone who wants to succeed in business should know, there is one important mantra; the customer is king. A business cannot expect to exist without its customers as they are its livelihood; to flourish a business must ensure its customers are happy. Because customer loyalty is a quality that affects a company’s revenue, companies have often looked to…

By David Onjili Imagine having a mango, banana, pineapple, avocado and water melon, and eating them in your preferred portions. Now imagine getting all these fruits and blending them and having a cocktail. This is the idea behind Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). An ETF is a conglomerate of assets that are traded as one, or simply a pooled investment vehicle offering diversified exposure to a particular area of the market. Investors buy shares which represent a proportional interest in the pooled assets. They track the performance of a basket of shares, bonds and commodities but also ETFs can track a…