Author: NLM Correspondent

Google, Convergence Partners, International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (“Mitsui”) have signed an agreement to invest in CSquared, a broadband infrastructure company focused on building wholesale metro fibre optic networks and enabling Internet access in Africa. CSquared will operate as an independent company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with cumulative capital commitments of up to $100 million. CSquared has operational networks in Uganda and Ghana and plans to deploy networks in more countries. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. This partnership will combine Google’s technical knowledge and expertise in deploying and operating wholesale metro infrastructure in…

By Tom Odhiambo One of the most (ab)used claims about democracy is that it derives from the will of the majority – to live and be governed together. Democrats proclaim from on manner of podiums that theirs is a system of governance that guarantees the rights of all and sundry, but from the votes of the majority. And they swear that democracy is the best form of governance. They insist that democracy is largely ruling by and through the law. Yet today democracy seems to have little to do with the voices of ordinary people. Money talks a lot in…

By Fuad Abdirahman In the run up to the 2013 General Election, the Garre clan, who make up the majority of Mandera, hatched a plan that would see them dominate county politics. The plan would also allow them to share positions equally among its sub clans while allowing other clans considered “non hostile” an opportunity to lead – as long as they abided by Garre terms. The formula was dubbed “negotiated democracy” and would be based on a consensus between the Garre, Degodia, Murale and other smaller Somali clans in the county. To aid their cause, the Garre conscripted the “Institution…

By Rev Dr joseph wandera But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; do to others as you would have them do to you – Luke 6:27-31 (NRSV) Although Kenya is by law a secular state, with constitutionally enshrined freedom of worship, religion continues to be present in the public sphere, functioning as a key framework for communal life. Beginning with the quest for democratic space in the 1990s,…

By Jeremiah Wanyeki In the novel Still Alice, published in 2007, Lisa Genova invites us into the life of Alice Howland, a celebrated fifty-year-old Harvard Professor. We watch as the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease creeps upon her and her life disintegrates, yet emboldens us, and finally we are left with the alluring message of tender love. Somewhere in the novel, Genova writes, “Even then, more than a year earlier, there were neurons in her head, not far from her ears, that were being strangled to death, too quietly for her to hear them. Some would argue that things were…

BY David Matende Almost all TV and radio stations, including the most provincial vernacular radio, have one or two of them. They are now a regular feature on prime time slots. Others have invaded the limitless platform of the Internet, where they ply their trade using social media networks such a Facebook. We are talking about Kenya’s political analysts – the men and women that purport to interpret major political events for us. While in the past one needed to read the Sunday newspapers for perspective on the big political questions of the day, today, one only needs to press…

By Daniel Benson Kaaya A modern credit-based economy requires predictable, transparent and affordable enforcement of both unsecured and secured credit claims by efficient mechanisms outside of insolvency, as well as a sound insolvency system – World Bank Principles and Guidelines for Effective Insolvency and Creditor Rights System [April 2001] One of the key characteristics of insolvency law is ensuring the honouring of a creditor’s claim by the debtor. A creditor’s claim ought to be honoured pari passu. The pari passu principle ensures the rateable and equitable distribution of the assets of the insolvent company among its creditors. In ensuring this…

By David Wanjala With the benefit of State resources at his/her disposal, dislodging an incumbent in the developing world, especially Africa, is as hard as, to paraphrase former President Mwai Kibaki, bringing down a Mugumo Tree (a revered sacred shrine in the Kikuyu culture), using a razor blade. Kibaki used the analogy in the late 80s at the height of the clamour for political pluralism against President Daniel Moi’s regime in which he served as vice president. For the sake of history, I must hasten to add that, indeed, the Opposition-orchestrated onslaught against Moi eventually carried the day. Moi yielded…

By Barack Muluka On August 8, the name Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi will for the first time in 28 years not appear on any ballot paper in Kenya’s General Elections. Mudavadi came to Kenya’s political scene in early 1989, following the death of his father, Moses Subston Budamba Mudavadi. The elder Mudavadi died as one of the most influential and powerful people in President Daniel Arap Moi’s Government, and Member of Parliament for Sabatia Constituency. It came as no surprise that the senior Mudavadi’s eldest son, Wycliffe, should ascend to the Sabatia seat. The younger Mudavadi has since had an exciting political career…

Six years ago, a deputy commanding general for US Army Special Operations Command gave a conservative estimate of 116 missions being carried out at any one time by Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, and other special operations forces across the globe. Today, according to US military documents, special operators are carrying out nearly 100 missions at any given time — in Africa alone. It’s the latest sign of the military’s quiet but ever-expanding presence on the continent, one that represents the most dramatic growth in the deployment of America’s elite troops to any region of the globe. “Africa’s challenges could create a threat that surpasses the threat that the…