Author: NLM Correspondent

By Alfred Mosoti On August 2010, Kenyans were a very happy and optimistic lot, having finally promulgated a new constitution they believed offered a new dawn It will be remembered they had a similar joy when the newly elected NARC regime took over power from Moi’s government in early 2003. Then Kenyans sang the contemptuous illusionary chorus yote yawezekana bila Moi- literally, everything is possible without Moi in power! It was a great milestone in Kenyan political history, replete with countless episodes of public disillusionment, occasioned by poor governance and abuse of power by her leaders – believed to have…

World leaders have been urged step up and take action in fighting famine to prevent further catastrophic levels of hunger and deaths, during the 43rd G7 summit last month. Oxfam Executive Director Winnie Byanyima observed, “political failure has led to these crises, and political leadership is needed to resolve them… the world’s most powerful leaders must now act to prevent a catastrophe happening on their watch.” In northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen, approximately 30 million people are severely food insecure. Of this figure, 10 million face emergency and famine conditions, more than the population of G7 member United…

By Prof. John Harbeson Elections are a time for taking stock on many levels. Kenya’s 2017 will enable voters to decide on representatives in each of six offices: the Presidency, Senate, and National Assembly, Woman Representative seats at the National level, governors and Members of County Assemblies at the county level. It has been a time for Kenya’s political parties to nominate candidates for all these seats. But elections are also stress test for a country’s democratic political institutions. The question is, how resilient and durable do a country’s democratic institutions appear to be as election season approaches? The question…

A lot has been said about Raila’s inability to sacrifice his presidential ambitions for the sake of a strong opposition. Many have called him a dictator, with ruling coalition politicians painting him as a vindictive and uncompromising politician, who is only driven by an unquenchable thirst for power and the desire to settle personal scores. Political analyst Prof Mutahi Ngunyi has take it upon himself to warn NASA co-principles of Raila’s manipulative nature –with the aid of fine sounding logic – even cajoling them to stage a revolt and take NASA for themselves. According to him, the man is what…

Alpha Femi The Judiciary has taken centre stage in the gruelling contest that will be the August 8 General Election, with key decisions that could help realise a credible process hinged on the crucial institution. Not to be left behind is the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB), which has also been in the frontline in ensuring that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission procures election materials in a manner that conforms to law, and meets the required standard. From cancelling tenders, issuing guidelines in the election timetable and giving directions on transmission of results, the Judiciary has not left…

By DAVID WANJALA AND KEVIN MOTAROKI If there is one profound lesson from the just ended party nominations, it is that voters are getting reawakened. After all the noise and venting and campaigning on social media – against bad leadership, not for or against candidates – the electorate seems to have finally decided, to some appreciable extent, to exercise free will. In any democratic spectrum, that is always a plus. One other lesson has been the bursting of perceptions that as long as your party leader wants you, you are home and dry. There has been open rebellion against all…

A new US-backed military offensive against Islamist militants in Somalia could undermine the massive international effort to help millions of people threatened by the worst drought there in more than 40 years, aid officials in the unstable east African state fear. Individual donors in the UK have raised more than £50m (Sh6.6 billion) and the British government has contributed another £110m  (Sh14.6 billion) to help avert hundreds of thousands of deaths in Somalia. More than six million people there are in need of immediate assistance, with half of them facing famine. British officials in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, say the effort…

By Isaac Swila When South African pay television channel SuperSport recently announced that they were terminating their contract with the Kenyan Premier League, which has been in existence since 2007 and which gave them the exclusive rights to broadcast matches of the Kenyan top-tier league, shock and disbelief greeted the football industry. This is so because after investing in the Kenyan league for ten years, pumping in colossal sums to the tune of billions, no one foresaw their coming exit. With their untimely departure, adverse financial effects will no doubt be felt on the nascent league, which had hitherto relied…

By David Matende In the past, it was State media organs that were used by the ruling party to spread anti-Opposition propaganda while denying them fair coverage. Today, private media are the ones playing this unenviable role. As the country prepares itself for an obviously tempestuous election, some media corporations, particularly the Nation Media Group, have chosen to throw professionalism out of the window and elected to do laundry work for the ruling party. Did anyone imagine that the Nation, a paper that has, over the years, created a good reputation to join the ranks of Africa’s best newspapers, could…

By NLM Writer A few days before President Barrack Obama visited the country in 2015, security personnel and officers from the National Youth Service were poured on the streets of Nairobi with instructions to rid them of undesirables. Street families, hawkers, prostitutes, beggars, name them, ended up on the back seats of land cruisers and county inspectorate vans. For a small fee of anything between Sh3,000 and Sh7,000 the lucky ones would be released, but with a warning… “We catch you again and…” The not so lucky ones found themselves in crowded police cells somewhere in industrial area and elsewhere.…