Author: NLM Correspondent

By NLM Reporter Criminalisation of petty offences in Kenya has, over time, provided a basis for gross violation of the human rights of poor and vulnerable populations, especially in cities and major urban centres. Even after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, hundreds of thousands of hawkers, touts, commercial sex workers, debt defaulters and street urchins face punishment, extortion, deprivation and violence at the hands of law enforcement agencies. And, through a new law and policy research titled “Law and Policy on the Petty Offences and Practices Affecting Populations at the National Leven and in Kisumu, Mombasa and…

“Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity” ― Frantz Fanon “We live in a country where our young ladies who have recently attained the age of puberty cannot afford sanitary pads, but our men and women in public offices have ipads which they do not even know how to use” ― P. L.O. Lumumba By its nature and substance democracy in contemporary Kenya is self-falsifying. Critically, I posit, it is democratic in being undemocratic in the very essence. The “rose” of Kenyan democracy blooms and engulfs the nation joyfully, while, at some bleak…

By Martin Nyakundi o’Barimo The general elections are scheduled to be held in Kenya on August 8, in which voters will be required to elect the president and his deputy, women representatives, members of the senate and the National Assembly, governors and ward representatives. This is in line with the provisions of Article 1 of the Constitution to the effect that: “All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution”. Further, Article 1 (2) provides that the people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or indirectly or through their…

BY DAVID DICOSTA “We have not neglected you. We have given you a Cabinet Minister and Chief Justice” – President Uhuru to the Abagusii. It is election time and tensions, more so fear of the unknown in the two camps of those seeking to retain power and the ones strategizing to wrestle it from the incumbents’ jaws, are understandably at fever pitch. It is especially so for those in power, as they never fathomed the possibility of the fragmented, disillusioned Opposition figureheads reuniting into a formidable coalition, presenting a real challenge to the status quo. It is also understandable that…

By Isaac Swila For the last one year, debate has raged on the future of the Kenyan Senate, with the National Assembly even making subtle threats to have it scrapped out. As if that is not enough, a number of the wise old men in the Senate have now thrown their hats in the ring for gubernatorial positions in the August 8 polls, signifying their desire to quit the August House to head counties. Flash back to 2010, at promulgation of the current Constitution, which ushered in a bicameral parliament; many thought that, like in mature democracies, such as Germany…

STANDING on a muddy patch of grass in Mathare, a district in the eastern part of Nairobi, Kevin surveys his handiwork. From an electricity pylon, a thick bundle of crudely twisted wire hangs down into a tin-roofed shack. From there it spreads to a dozen more. Single wires run perilously at eye level over open sewers, powering bare light-bulbs, kettles and blaring speakers. In exchange for a connection, Kevin and six of his friends collect 200 shillings per month each from about a hundred shacks in his corner of the slum. To protect the business, the gang pays off police…

By Fuad Abdirahman Aden Duale is an anxious man. His influence is on the wane. The entry of Farah Maalim into the Garissa Township MP race significantly threatens his chances of another stint as MP. In his homecoming party at the Islamic school of Salam in Garissa months after he was sworn in as MP, Duale will be remembered for blasting the teachers who had organised the event for “choosing their son Maalim over him. “…Now that Uhuru has given me a bigger job, you want my support,” he rapped. Unimpressed, one of the teachers is alleged to have warned…

Most of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumers in the country are likely to be purchasing half-filled cylinders due to illegal gas refilling by dishonest traders. Government regulatory authorities and some dealers say that the problem is rampant in some areas in the country and that they are doing everything in their capacity to resolve it. As a result, such acts have since prompted the government of Kenya to ban the importation of gas from Tanzania through land routes. On Monday, Kenya’s Ministry of Energy banned imports of cooking gas through the common border – on land only – for now.…

Three international development agencies have come together to mobilise more than $1 billion (Sh100 billion) for power generation across Africa, including the 147MW Ruzizi III project that will supply electricity to Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), its industrial and infrastructure development arm, Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) and CDC Group, the UK development finance arm, launched the joint power initiative with a promise to boost power generation, accelerate economic growth and benefit millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership will focus on new power projects in greater East Africa…

The UN panel of experts for South Sudan has directed the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) member states to immediately impose travel bans and asset freezes on the country’s military commanders sanctioned by the Security Council last year. The UN Security Council sanctioned at least six commanders from both the government and opposition forces for committing gross atrocities since the onset of the war in 2013. The military commanders targeted were Major General Marial Chanuong Yol, who is in charge of presidential guards, Lieutenant General Gabriel Jok Riak and Major General Santino Deng Wol, all from government side. Fresh report…