Author: NLM Correspondent

By Fuad Abdirahman Thousands of persons are trapped in their homes in the counties of Garissa, Mandera and Wajir, the reason being that they are unable to obtain national identity cards commonly referred to as kipande. For this reason, many face arbitrary arrests when they fail to produce identity cards on demand by security officers. Investigations by the Nairobi Law Monthly reveal that acquiring ID cards is either restricted or limited across the three counties. Where, in other part of the country, registration of ID cards is a regular process that is done every working day, in the former North Eastern…

By Oloo Winnie The 53rd Jamhuri Day speech by President Kenyatta on the possible electoral influence of the International Community betrays a government that fears that its failures have been recorded globally, or one that has let the foreign entities control most of its policies and economy. Whichever way one chooses to look at it, this bitter speech by the country’s chief executive confirms that us as a nation we are “not yet uhuru”, and that we are living in a deplorable state, at least for the millions of poverty-stricken Kenyans living upon the mercies of donor funding to keep…

By David Wanjala The odds have never disfavoured an incumbent as much as they do now for the President and his entire Jubilee Party battalion in the August 8 General Election. Even though a couple of polls have, in the recent past, put the President ahead of the Opposition, the Jubilee Government’s inner circle, I am inclined to believe, is taking the polls with a pinch of salt, like the rest of us. If this is the case, they can then work on an instant coffee winning formula, if not a miracle, in the remaining months. If the contrary is…

By Jane Wachira Every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities – Article 37, Constitution of Kenya, 2010 Despite the bold, succinct and clear proviso in CAP 4 of the Bill of Rights on the right to assemble, demonstrate and present petitions, the Kenyan government, mostly through the police and sometimes the Judiciary – seems not to get what it really means to exercise the aforementioned rights. Protests in Kenya are met with excessive and brutal force. In 2015 alone, there were 140 documented protests, sparked by…

By Ian-Johnson Ondari The nexus between regulation and innovation is a contentious one, depending on who is involved. The shift brought about by technology has made it inevitable that firms have to rethink their traditional models to survive this disruption. At the tail end, the government is also, often, left floundering on how to suitably respond to new risks and potential opportunities. The main concern then of governance, risk and compliance space’s is to find a balance between regulatory standards that will not only protect consumers of these new products but also offer an extremely competitive market. On January 1,…

By Ali Amersi Tax compliance is a fundamental characteristic of meeting tax obligations within any jurisdiction. In situations where there is a shortfall of revenue collection and a lack of conformity, governments offer tax amnesties to increase revenue collection. Importantly, the objective of most tax amnesties is essential to increase revenue collection through voluntary compliance by way of tax declaration, and simultaneous implementation of penalties for failure to heed the amnesty. Recently, a tax amnesty was given in Kenya. It necessary to understand how past amnesties in Kenya have impacted the country, and how the current amnesty will do as…

By David Onjili The man Jesus is and remains one of the greatest radicals this world has ever experienced. The son of a mere carpenter from Jerusalem, with a radical message and centuries after he last set foot on earth, more than half the world’s population still live by his teachings. He fought the establishment with his teachings and only had 12 disciples whom he used to spread his word. They were a courageous lot, ready to die for what they believed in. In modern history, names like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Fidel Castro come to…

By Bephine Ogutu Last month, pictures of a young boy sitting on the ground bleeding, about to be lynched, went viral on social media. Most people couldn’t stand the sight of the pictures, which were extremely graphic. For those who had the guts to watch the video, it was beyond painful; it was traumatising. The boy was only 10. Mob justice is a brutal part life in Kenya and elsewhere. Administration of instant justice to suspects and accused persons is an “accepted” way of fighting crime in Kenya. But the question is, how do you stop crime in a community…

By Francis Monyango It is not a secret that technology has disrupted the media industry. In the past few years, media houses have downscaled operations, leading to loss of jobs. As well, media houses have changed their approach and joined the muddled battle for clicks. Every media organisation now has a news site even though the quality of news that they post leaves a lot to be desired. In this new age, media houses do not just compete amongst themselves but also against blogs for traffic. As they say, all is fair in love and war. In this online war,…

By Timothy Machasio Kenyans were treated to a shock recently when the Cabinet Secretary for Education released results for the 2016 Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E) examinations. The reason? In addition to the fact that they came a mere six weeks after the conclusion of the examinations, the results were probably the worst recorded in the history of 8-4-4 (Kenya’s education system encompassing 8 years of primary school, 4 years of high school and 4 years of university). Only about 15 % of the country’s candidature obtained a mean score of C+ and above, and only 141 students out…