Author: NLM Correspondent

The Conversation It is fairly well known that the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kenyans were affected by terrible acts of violence under the British colonial administration. The British government and King Charles have acknowledged it, and some victims of violence have taken the British government to court for these crimes. Less-known is how much the British imperialist government tried to cover up these violations. My research reveals how harsh British detention camps in Kenya were, and the extremes to which the colonialists went to conceal information about this. Much of this violence happened during the state of emergency, which lasted between 20 October 1952 and 12…

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala retains the position of Africa’s most powerful woman, while new entrant Mpumi Madisa takes second place as African women solidify their place among Forbes’ ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ rankings, boosting their influence on global leadership, politics and business. By Conrad Onyango More African women are joining and rising up the ranks of the world’s 100 most powerful women, according to Forbes, as they grow their influence in shaping the policies, products and political fights defining the globe. Nigeria’s former minister of finance, currently World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has moved the highest on the…

Ambassadors to be held accountable for the use of funds allocated to embassies, President says. President William Ruto has asked newly appointed diplomats to proactively protect and advance the interests of Kenyans in their countries of designation. Speaking during a meeting with the new ambassadors, high commissioners and deputy heads of mission, the Head of State said the ambassadors should explore new business opportunities for Kenyans abroad. He also asked them to promote Kenya as an ideal investment destination. The President said it is the responsibility of the ambassadors to look after Kenyans operating in the countries they are posted.…

Britain and Rwanda have inked a new treaty aimed at rescuing failed plans for the UK to deport asylum-seekers. A top court ruling had blocked the policy, saying it violated human rights laws enshrined in UK legislation. The interior ministers of Britain and Rwanda on Tuesday signed an agreement aimed at reviving a failed policyaimed at relocating irregular arrivals to the UK to the East African country. The UK government said the plan, dismissed by the opposition as unworkable, is essential for it to meet a promise to slash migration. What did the ministers say about the deal? UK Home Secretary…

BY AFP Chad and Mauritania, the two remaining members of West Africa’s G5 Sahel Alliance on Wednesday said they were paving the way to dissolving the anti-militia grouping, after Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal on Saturday. A statement released by the Chadian and Mauritanian officials said the two nation’s “take note and respect the sovereign decision” made by Burkina Faso and Niger to leave the alliance, following the footsteps of Mali who announced withdrawal in 2022. The G5 Sahel, which included Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger, was created in 2014, with an anti-militia force added in…

Airtel Africa has launched a new data centre business aimed at building new networks of data centres in Africa to meet the continent’s growing needs for trusted and sustainable data centres. Dubbed Nxtra, the new product which is founded on Airtel’s commitment to meet Africa’s growing data needs, will also seek to increase the company’s capacity to serve the rising African digital economy. Airtel says that Nxtra’s ambition will allow it to serve the growing needs of African enterprises and its data centre infrastructure. The product will be designed to host the next generation of computing, while providing multi-MW capacity…

By Carmel Rickard A combination of factors led the UK’s apex supreme court to hold that the government’s deal with Rwanda wasn’t lawful. Among them was Rwanda’s poor human rights record, and the Rwandan judiciary’s lack of independence. The deal, outsourcing the management of asylum-seekers to Kigali, is a key element of the UK government’s policy. But it has also been hotly contested, both in political debate and in the UK courts. Initially, the divisional court dismissed a challenge to the deal, but that approach has now been twice rejected, first by the court of appeal and more recently, by…

By Sethi Ncube Four women, living with HIV, received compensation of U.S.$20,000 each after undergoing involuntary sterilisation without informed consent. In interviews with the BBC, they shared their harrowing experiences, after a nine-year legal battle. Penda, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said she underwent surgery shortly after having twins at the state-owned Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi. The process is known as bilateral tubal ligation (BTL). It involves cutting, tying, burning, clipping, or partially removing the fallopian tubes, closing them off to avoid future pregnancies. The father of her twins left before they were born, and her husband…

Following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on December 5th 2023, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has raised the benchmark lending rate from 10.5% to 12.5% percent in yet another attempt at containing the devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar. As a result of the devaluation opf the shilling, debt servicing costs have increased for the country while the price on imports increases as well. According to the MPC, the exchange rate depreciation continues to exert upward pressure on domestic prices thereby increasing the cost of living and reducing the purchasing power. According to CBK…

The Conversation Within a few years of independence, African governments asserted sovereignty over their metal and mineral resources. Prior to this, the resources were exploited by European mining corporations. Since the 1990s, transnational corporations have once again become the dominant force as owners and managers of major mining projects. Ben Radley has researched economic transformation in central Africa, with a particular focus on resource-based industrialisation. He argues in this excerpt of his new book, Disrupted Development in the Congo: The Fragile Foundations of the African Mining Consensus, that the return of transnationals was carried out through a three-stage process beginning with…