Author: NLM Correspondent

Every year South African investigative journalists are recognised for their hard work when the winners of the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism are announced. This year provided a chance to assess the highs and the lows of our investigative reporting after an extraordinary year. For the last few years, it seemed that South Africa was facing an impervious culture of impunity. Many state institutions of accountability faltered, and corruption appeared to be undermining democracy and destroying the economy. But small groups of investigative journalists beavered away. They pieced together the elements of what grew into a remarkable story of…

By TNLM Writer The promise of instant millions for digital broadcasters, many who were struggling to break even amidst stiff competition from established media, was too tempting to let go. The Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) was promising between Sh2m and Sh4million for each of the 20 digital broadcasters to run adverts to show the progress made in the first term of the Jubilee administration ahead of the August 8, 2017 General Election (#GoKDelivers and #JubileeDelivers adverts). This roughly translated to Sh1 million per month, which, by any standards, would have been a huge revenue boost for the upstart broadcasters. With…

By TNLM Writer After almost four years, when nothing has gone on at the site of the Hazina Towers within Nairobi’s central business district, the contractor, China Jiangxi, slapped National Social Security Fund (NSSF) with a Sh6.9 billion bill as compensation claims over project delays. The compensation demand was contentious but the contractor argued that the fee was commensurate with the time its equipment and personnel were not able to work as NSSF fought in court with Nakumatt Supermarkets, who had moved to court to stop the construction. Eventually, an idling fee of Sh1.9 billion seems to have been agreed…

By Joel Okwemba While our ancestors have been around for millennia, industrialisation began in earnest only in the 1800s. The First Industrial Revolution could be said to have birthed Capitalism, with the growth of economies through the innovation of steam engines and printing that transformed transport, communication and energy systems. The Second Revolution was characterised by the innovation of electricity and driven by political capitalism, where according to Gabriel Kolko, “the businessmen took firmer control of the political system because the private economy was not sufficient enough to forestall protest from below”. The Third one (currently taking shape) can be said…

BY Alexander Opicho Literature on feminism and domestic politics in Africa has been known to be a preserve of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, but things seem to be taking a new direction, with the release of a new anthology of essays on feminism in February. Edited by Jen Thorpe and published by Kwela Books in South Africa, the title of the anthology is Feminism – a collection of essays that assembles writings by over thirty African feminists who lovingly and insightfully dissect every aspect of feminist ideals and the politics they inspire. Thorpe is a published poet, and is well-known in…

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…