Author: NLM Correspondent

BY NLM WRITER It wasn’t the facts that raised eyebrows. The unreserved, lack of restraint, free-for-all character annihilation of businessman Jimi Wanjigi by Kenya’s leading news outlet, Nation Media Group, has left observers worried about media fidelity to ethics and journalistic standards during this electioneering period. According to multiple interviews, the Daily Nation of June 22, 2017 (The Jimi Wanjigi Connection: Nasa has opened its arms to Kenya’s most feared man) was, without doubt, a hatchet man’s job, the lowest form of journalism that exceptionally sought to convict and sentence a person without granting him the due “right of reply”.…

By Alexander Opicho It is Paul of Tarsus that first used the words “scum of the earth” when he was describing the powerless communities during the times of the early church. Paul’s language in describing the poor had been obviously influenced by the deep study of Aristotle and other supplies of Greek philosophy, Roman law and the study of Jewish legal-political organisation. These statements of Paul have had spiritual and philosophical as well as revolutionary effects on the latter generations across different cultures. For example, literary psychology tells us that Jagjit Singh’s title of his play Sweet Scum of Freedom…

By David Matende Kenya’n are often chided as the quintessential copycats. From the way they dress to what they eat and how they speak English, Kenyans are unabashed borrowers of the foreign. This month, media houses will host US-style presidential debates ahead of the August 8 General Election. Some say that the presidential debates are a sign of a maturing democracy, that they may help the voter decide who is best suited to be president. Well, that might sound good, but I think our presidential debates are a waste of time, energy and resources – unless they are meant to…

By Isaac Swila Simmering political tension is threatening to explode in the vote-rich basket of Central Kenya and complicate William Ruto’s quest to succeed his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, in the wake of chaotic Jubilee party primaries, as the 2022 succession race begins to take shape in earnest. Although Kenyatta is facing a stern challenge to his presidency from a revitalised and a united opposition coalition, Nasa, ahead of the August 8 elections, jitters, murmurs, and disquiet is building up in his traditional political base, which his deputy wants to inherit. However, Ruto’s desire is already running into headwinds over…

NLM Writer Jubilee and Nasa are both champing at the bit for the titanic battle that the Kajiado gubernatorial race has turned out to be, where the incumbent David Nkedianye and former Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku are the front-runners for their respective parties. Lenku triumphed in the Jubilee party nominations, beating Tarayia ole Kores, while Dr Nkedianye got a direct nomination, as he had no challenger for the ODM ticket. Where the governor easily beat URP’s Livondo in 2013, this year’s election promises to be a close affair that could swing both ways. In 2013, many averred that…

NLM Writer The contest for the Mombasa County gubernatorial seat has brought out in fights in the Jubilee camp and broader interesting insights into the strategies of some candidates. This is according to a number of well-placed sources that have spoken to the Nairobi Law Monthly. The incumbent, Hassan Ali Joho is seen as a hot favourite to retain his seat even though his strongest challenge is seen to be posed by Senator Hassan Omar. The race, however, has another candidate in Suleiman Shahbal who is running on the Jubilee Party ticket. Shahbal was the runner-up in the last election…

By Isaac Swila The stage is all but set for an explosive political contest pitting incumbent Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua, running on a Maendeleo Chap Chap ticket, against a fired-up Wavinya Ndeti whose political vehicle is the Wiper Democratic Movement. Ndeti, 50, a former MP for Kathiani, is an experienced political operator, but in Mutua, she faces a shrewd political player who has cut his teeth in the last four years he has served as a governor. Ndeti, who holds an MSc in Business Administration and Marketing from the Heirotwatt University, United Kingdom, has long hankered after the governor’s…

NLM Writer A fierce battle is happening between Jubilee Party candidate Joyce Laboso and the incumbent Isaac Ruto on Chama Cha Mashinani for August for the Bomet gubernatorial position. Governor Ruto, who became the Chepalungu MP in the late 1990s, is one of the fiercest critics of Deputy President Ruto, with whom he has since fallen out. Ruto has challenged Jubilee Party for its “tuko pamoja” slogan by painting it as a cover for runaway corruption, and as empty rhetoric for consumption of the gullible. The governor says he has come under heavy criticism from Jubilee party leaders for his…

By NLM Writer The political duel between Governor Peter Munya and his main opponent in the Meru gubernatorial race Senator Kiraitu Murungi, which has been simmering for close to two years now, boiled over after President Uhuru Kenyatta toured the county in June. In what promises to be to be a titanic battle for the hearts and minds of Meru voters, the two candidates are full throttle on the campaign trail. Other candidates include Dr Kilemi Mwiria (Maendeleo Chap Chap), Winnie Kaburu (Wiper) and independent candidates Kiambi Atheru and Buuri MP Kinoti Gatobu, who are said to, cumulatively, command a…

By NLM Writer When ODM implored its Garissa Township candidate Nasir Dolal to step down in favour of his Wiper counterpart Farah Maalim, the opposition was sending the clearest sign yet that it was going for incumbent Aden Duale’s jugular on August 8. Duale is the face of the ruling Jubilee coalition not only in the National Assembly, but also in the vast North Eastern region. For the Opposition, winning against Duale has turned not to be a constituency war but one against a regime they are disdainfully dismissive of, a regime they accuse of discriminating against the people of North…