Author: NLM Correspondent

By Janek Sunga I believe the re-introduction of devolution has been wonderful for our democracy.  In the social sciences, five years is the bare minimum that is required for conducting a proper longitudinal study. In such a study, scientists make observations and gather data on the same subjects repeatedly over a long period of time. We are only seven years into this new Kenya experiment. I believe at the ten year mark, we can begin taking proper stock of the success of devolution. However, valid questions have been raised about the viability of some county governments which I will address in…

“The Handshake” has become a common reference to the political truce between President Uhuru Kenyatta and The People’s President Raila Odinga. The deal was made public through a handshake on the steps of Harambee House on March 9th 2018. Very few people knew about the talks between the two prior to the handshake and they kept the faith of their bosses to keep it a secret. These talks might have begun just before the January 29th swearing in of Raila as the people’s President. We heard romours of NASA leaders meeting the US ambassador before the swearing in. The five…

At the age of 36, Justice Luka Kimaru was appointed a judge of the High Court in December 2003, where he has served since. Within the Judiciary, he is known as a no-nonsense Judge who is a stickler for the law. His first station was the Nairobi Criminal Division, before he was transferred to Nakuru, then back to Nairobi. So efficient is Justice Kimaru at his job that the Rift Valley Law Society protested plans to move him to Mombasa while he was stationed in Nakuru. Justice Kimaru is given to bouts of anger – justified, some say – especially…

Aching for Bob’s brand of politics? Zimbabwe’s government distanced itself from a deputy minister who said the army wouldn’t allow the opposition to rule if it wins an election this year. The comments by Deputy Minister of Finance Terence Mukupe (pictured) – which echoed warnings that the military often made under former president Robert Mugabe – provoked outrage on social media and prompted a government spokesman to describe them as a threat to national security. In an online video, Mukupe is seen telling a rally in Harare that the army would not let opposition leader Nelson Chamisa take power if…

By Joel Okwemba There have been many instances where journalists have been discouraged from pursuing important subjects of public interest in relation to the country’s foreign policy agenda and the larger global affairs issues as a discussion led by the Centre for International and Security Affairs revealed. The event themed “Enhancing Public Interest in Global Affairs: The Role of the Media” convened the diplomatic community, journalists, international organizations, academia and students in exploring the bottlenecks on these matters. Education There is a glaring lack of specialisation of media training in our universities and media schools on matters diplomacy and global…

OBTUSE JUSTICE: When it comes to pinching a penny, it is unwise to be ‘petty’, at least according to the Kenyan justice system. Whereas small-time offenders, like Justinah (left), are hung out to dry for taking little bribes, elite looters, who have helped themseleves to billions from public coffers, as in the NYS looting spree that has come to light recently, can walk scot free. Like sin, where none is small or big, every crime deserves punishment; it is morally repugnant when double standards apply like this, by those who should judge in ‘letter and spirit’.

By Nkwazi Mhango When former AG Amos Wako, who also is the Senator for Busia, said that Raila Odinga still has the chance to become the next president of Kenya, I was pushed to write this piece. First of all, I fully concur with Wako. Secondly, the impromptu marriage, ala handshake, between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Odinga added more vim. I am one of many who wanted the duo to talk in order to pull Kenya out of the impasse resulting from last year’s elections. Now that they’re working together, we need to support them. Raila must soldier on in…

By Payton Mathau The Kenyan embassy in Somalia is secured by a team of Ugandan private military security guards. The private security guards are also deployed to several hotels and businesses operating within Mogadishu’s airport, which is secured by Amisom troops from Uganda and Burundi. Their services are procured by individual entities. The move comes after fifteen people were killed in an explosion at Jazeera Palace, a diplomats’ hotel on July 26, 2015. China, Qatar and Egypt had embassies at the hotel. The Kenyan ambassador to Somalia Major General (Rtd) Lucas Tumbo, who was rescued from the Jazeera Palace Hotel,…

I am moved to write this month by Professor Yash Ghai’s recent essay about the perils, purpose and promise of revising a still fairly newly popularly approved Constitution. Kenya’s prolonged and successful effort to write and secure strong popular approbation for what I believe is as a model constitution stands out as one of sub-Saharan leading achievements of the, sadly, now fading democratic era, and not just in Africa. Professor Ghai’s essay reminds me of an issue that struck me as singularly important as I concluded a tour as USAID’s Regional Democracy and Governance Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa in…

By Ahmednasir Abdullahi Amidst the current political goings on is the forgotten fact that until now, elections in this country have been defined by backroom dealings and constitutional changes aimed at consolidating power for a few individuals. It’s an old script. And while it is romantic to think that that this struggle pits the status quo against the reformers (to paraphrase freedom stalwart Jaramogi Oginga Odinga), the truth is that it is a self-centred game between a few powerful men battling for the control of the vast resources of the State. We like to think of it but there are…