Author: NLM Correspondent

By Antony Mutunga “The blockchain is custom-made for decentralising trust and exchanging assets without central intermediaries. With the decentralisation of trust, we will be able to exchange anything we own and challenge existing trusted authorities and custodians that typically held the keys to accessing our assets or verifying their authenticity” – William Mougayar IN this digital era, it is difficult to find someone who has not heard about cryptocurrencies and the technology behind them. They have been the talk world over as they grow more and more popular and disrupt all types of markets around the globe. Since the introduction…

By David Onjili Barclay’s economic projection Barclays Africa launched their 2018 macroeconomic report last month. In the report, they highlighted key areas likely to affect the economy in the sub-Saharan region. Kenya’s projections were positive, with Barclays expecting the economy to grow to 5.5% in 2018 from 4.6% in a similar period in 2017. The company bases this growth on the fact that the political climate of 2017 has passed, and that the rain pattern this year is likely to be better spread and regular – meaning good agricultural returns. According to Barclays, both tourism and agriculture are expected to…

NLM Writer After enjoying about two decades of robust growth, the situation in Sub Saharan Africa seemed to have hit a snag after the economic growth slowed down sharply to 1.4% in 2016. This was mainly as a result of low commodity prices as well as the increasing imbalances in some large economies in the region such as Nigeria. In 2017, the region’s economy was able to slightly recover as its growth stood at 2.7%, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service, a credit rating agency. The growth was accredited to the slight recovery of the region’s big economies…

By Ali Abdi “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world. Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy” – Jack Welch, Former CEO, General Electric Simplicity is not always a virtue. In particular, simplicity is not a virtue when it leads to misconceptions and mistakes. Over the last decades, the term “shareholder primacy” has become synonymous with the perspective that the purpose of the corporation is to maximise shareholder wealth. However, questions arise as to whether the primary corporate objective of a company is simply to increase the shareholder wealth, or whether companies…

By Newton Arori Bail pending arrest, also called anticipatory bail, is a peculiar form of bail for it is issued even before one is arrested. One typically applies for anticipatory bail if he/she apprehends that there is a move to have them arrested on false charges, or that a false case is likely to be built up against them. In Kenya, anticipatory bail is not expressly provided for in the Constitution or in statute, thus one has to look to rely on case law. In this regard, the High Court in W’Njuguna v. Republic (2004) eKLR stated, “While the right…

By far, the biggest hurdle faced by CA in its quest to be independent is the influence of surrogate entities enlisted by the dominant operator in the market with the sole aim of delaying any process that may lead to the levelling of the playing field in the telecommunications sector. When Equity Bank announced its intention to introduce a thin sim card in the market to allow its customers opt out of Safaricom’s M-pesa platform, myriad of cases were “sponsored” by Safaricom to delay or otherwise frustrate the implementation of Equity Bank sim card operation. One such surrogate entity was…

It is clear that the drafters of the Constitution intended that the regulatory regime of the media and telecoms industry ought to be independent. In the words of Article 34(5) of the Constitution, Parliament is required to establish a “body which shall (a) be independent of control by government, political interests or commercial interests, and (b) reflect the interests of all sections of the society.” The Board of the Communication Authority totally fails to adhere to this constitutional imperative. Ms Patricia Kimama is a Board Member of the CA.  She is also the “Head of Cash Management and E-Channels” at…

The board at the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) ignored management’s advisory for an out-of-court settlement with operator Airtel, which would have saved the Authority from financial and reputational injury. CA management had warned that putting a defence against Airtel in a case the operator had challenged the demand of Sh2.1 billion license fee ($20,025,000) would be counterproductive, and would expose the Authority to financial and image losses. Hardly a week had passed after initially agreeing to the proposal for a negotiated settlement, when the board inexplicably reversed its decision, reportedly from external influence.   Airtel had been fighting the license…

By Payton Mathau Establishing the market dominance of mobile and data service providers has, for years now, become – arguably – the most discussed topic in the telecommunications sector. Yet, a report whose findings and recommendations could have settled the matter has been gathering dust at the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) for some five months now, apparently because of sustained efforts from people in high places in government to protect Safaricom by scuttling the report’s implementation. So vicious it has been, the Nairobi Law Monthly has learnt, that at one meeting by top Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology…

By NLM writer The NLM caught up with Marek Rohr-Garztecki, permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to UNEP and UN Habitat, to discuss matters trade and diplomatic relations. The following is an excerpt of that interview You have been here a while now. How does compare to the other countries where you have served such as Angola, Sao Tome and Principe and Gabon? I have taught contemporary African studies in Poland and I always repeat that there is no such thing as Africa. Because of the multiplicity of languages, countries here are so diverse.  The biggest difference between Kenya…