Author: NLM Correspondent

By NLM Writer It is a refrain that Africa’s way forward has to be based to a substantial degree on Intra-African trade, and that this is a key way in which Africa will stand up. Currently this is growing, but it accounts for as little as 10- 12% of overall trade on the continent, whereas trade with non-African countries is more than 50%. In other developed economies such as the EU, intra-continental trade accounts (pre-Brexit) for over 60% of all trade, highlighting an obvious disparity. What is a realistic objective for growing intra-African trade by 2025, and how can key…

BY ELSIE OYOO As a client, you want a lawyer whose legal advice helps you to fulfill your dreams such as owning some property or taking your business to the next level. Lawyers can also assist you to mitigate crisis moments in emotive issues in the settlement of personal or commercial disputes. You probably know in general what you want from your lawyer. At times though, it is difficult to identify which traits you should look out for in a legal advisor. While the list below is by no means exhaustive, if you pick your lawyer based on the five…

By Edwin Musonye Financial literacy can be a tricky subject to understand. This comes from numerous definitions it has depending on the context. Some interest groups have defined it in a more basic way as the ability to comprehend and implement matters of personal finance, including elementary numeracy, interest compounding, inflation, and risk branching out. The focus is to encourage people to understand compound savings rates, changes in value of money as time passes, system of credit and debt, and how these economic apparatuses affect their choices. However, a more elaborate definition that extends beyond an individual level as preferred…

By Antony Mutunga In 2009, the world witnessed the emergence of a mysterious technology, at a time no one imagined the e-money would amount to much. The technology, which came to be known as Bitcoin, was the work of Satoshi Nakamoto who mined the first ever block, the genesis block, for a reward of 50 Bitcoin after many years of research and development. Bitcoin though, did not start off on the right track as in the year it was introduced to the world; it went for close to nothing and in its second year, 2010, it wasn’t even able to…

By Kosta Kioleoglou The prolonged and uncertain election period has seriously challenged Kenya’s economy and property market. The turmoil of the extended Presidential election triggered several side effects that had been developing behind the scenes. The country’s bad economic performance with several microeconomic factors showing signs of weakness and unsustainability are now monopolising the local and international analyst’s interest. Over the last few months, a number of reports have given negative signs for the Kenyan property market and the Kenyan economy. The property market has been under pressure for almost two years. Marginal price increases, which are now further slowing…

By Daniel Benson Kaaya Bancassurance is an arrangement in which a bank and an insurance company form a partnership so that the insurance company can sell its products to the bank’s client base. In this instance, a bank is the distribution channel for the insurance products. This arrangement finds its footing in the principle of incidental business that banks are allowed to engage in other than banking business. A cursory definition of incidental business would be activities functionally adjacent to the business of banking that enhance the quality and efficiency of its content and delivery, and activities that optimise the…

By Newton Arori Section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act lays down the general principle regarding the payment of costs at the conclusion of a suit thus: a) costs follow the event b) the event is that the unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay costs of the successful party c) the court has discretion as to who pays costs, the amount thereof and when they are to be paid. The discretion must be exercised judicially; it must not be exercised arbitrarily but in accordance with reason and justice. In Republic v Rosemary Wairimu Munene (Judicial Review Application No. 6…

Who will lead the only US financial regulator focused on protecting regular people? That’s a problem that will need to be solved by the courts, thanks to a legal mess created by president Donald Trump. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was set up after the financial crisis, when it became clear that part of the unravelling subprime mortgage bubble were exploitive contracts that led borrowers into loans they could never repay. But the CFPB’s advocacy for customers has led banks to fight the agency tooth and nail since its inception. The agency’s first director, Richard Cordray, stepped down on Nov.…

By Dennis Ndiritu The rights of the child had been forgotten for long, until the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. This dispensation provides that every child has the right to a name and nationality from birth, free and compulsory basic education, basic nutrition, shelter and healthcare, protection from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment and punishment, and hazardous or exploitative labour, parental care and protection. This includes equal responsibility of the mother and father to provide for the child, whether they are married to each other or not. Children are not to be…

By Teddy Musiga On the eve of the repeat presidential election in October 2017, the High Court of Kenya sitting at Nairobi rendered a decision that was later subjected to an appeal on that very day. The preliminary decision of the Court of Appeal was also delivered by dusk of the same day. Briefly, the High Court held that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed to accord political parties and independent candidates a list of persons proposed for appointment as constituency returning officers at least fourteen days prior to the proposed date of appointment, and that the IEBC…