Author: NLM Correspondent

By Kelvin Njuguna Mugwe The Kenyan society is hopelessly devoid of unity and this has been occasioned by the absence of unifying factors that inspire consensus. One interesting phenomenon, however, offers priceless solace: sports. The effect of sports on the Kenyan society cannot be over-emphasized. Sports has had the unrivalled effect of making Kenyans retract from their detestable tribal cocoons and sing one unified song of praise and love for fellow countrymen. But this effect is not limited to the temporary stitching of the riddled Kenyan fabric; according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) the sporting sector will increase its earnings twofold to…

By Nadrat Mazrui Every single one of our households has a domestic worker who assists in the daily activities and running of our homes. The domestic worker might be either male or female depending on our personal preferences. Have we ever pondered even for a single moment how is it that our domestic worker ever came into that line of work? Or do we simply assume it was a voluntary choice due to financial reasons? Majority of our workers would tell us (if we bothered to ask) that they had a variety of dreams just like you and me and…

By Shadrack Muyesu The most economically developed states are those that best mirror the peculiarities of liberal democracy. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that the world’s oldest democracies are also the most developed (with “gas states” the only ones defying this rule). While myriad reasons are given in explanation of this phenomenon, history is unanimous that liberal democracy as a precursor to economic development is slow and therefore not best for application where quick development is required. Even then, the net success of liberal democracy varies depending on the nature of the society. As Fukuyama, Lipton and many others argue, maximum…

By Jaafar Abdulkadir As Islamic banking continues to make strides into the mainstream financial services sector in Kenya, players are increasingly redefining their relationship with customers. But, just how does Islamic banking operate? How do the financiers cushion themselves from customer defaults and associated risks? Islamic banking operates on the basis of contracts that are deemed legal and lawful as per Shariah standards, on condition that these contracts are free from any prohibition. Some of the prohibitions include the provisions of interest, popularly known as riba, financing of non-permissible activities, speculative and excessively risky activities. The contracts can be designed…

By Leonard Wanyama For some reason, President Uhuru Kenyatta always seems to jump and react to concerns of religious leaders more than members of the business community. This is surprising since it can be said that he is a dyed-in-the-wool member of the private sector. As a competitive oriented entity, such occurrences should make the industry raise an eye brow in regard to this. This can be observed, quite recently, from the beehive of activities that have emerged from the spectacle of danger following protests against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Kenya has always had an inherent “ideology…

By Daniel Benson Kaaya There are few things that a patient awaiting treatment fears more than that the intervention, far from improving the condition, will make it worse. Similarly, there are few things that medical professionals fear more than that something will go wrong in their dealings with their patients; leaving a patient harmed. When something goes wrong in the medical context, it seems natural in our society that legal consequences will follow [Jonathan Herring; Medical Law and Ethics, 5th Edition, 2014]. The Judiciary has often had the same menu of cases for years. This suggests that either public awareness…

By Jane Wachira Supreme Courts in various jurisdictions have been praised for their contribution to jurisprudence; their well reasoned decisions have formed precedence for developing legal systems. This can hardly be said of the Kenyan Supreme Court, which has earned the unenviable reputation of being more ceremonial and ornamental than it is functional. Why does it cast the image of an institution whose hands are tied? Is it because of its limited jurisdiction? Is it because of the wording of Article 163 of the Constitution that established it? Is it about the court’s rules? Is it that it is so…

By Jane wachira S.M. Otieno, a prominent trial lawyer, died intestate in 1986. The respondents, members of the deceased’s Umira Kager clan sued his widow, Wambui Otieno, seeking to have him buried in his ancestral  home in Nyalgunga, Siaya, in accordance with Luo customary law. The widow, from the Kikuyu community, wished to bury him in their suburban home in Nairobi in accordance with common law. Wambui’s lawyer, John Khaminwa, argued that the deceased had, through Christian urbanised lifestyle, and statutory marriage to a non–Luo, forsaken tribal custom for a modern life, and that customary Luo burial therefore did not…

The litigation over the judges’ retirement age throughout the entire court structures, right from the High Court of Kenya to the Supreme Court, had a number of interesting turns and twists. Too much drama and emotion issued from the proceedings. Lawyers assumed centre stage and quite a number of them came out poorer. Professional decorum and even the quality of advocacy at the Bar were, in the process, brought to doubt and even shame. A number of players had their statuses enhanced whilst others came out very badly. Even judges were not spared. And activist Okiya Omtata emerged as the…

By Shadrack Muyesu Someone in Government must be horribly exasperated at the recent turn of events at the Supreme Court. And why shouldn’t they be? When X, a lobbyist, approached one of the top boys at the Court, the script ought to have been very simple: “ensure we have numbers at both the Supreme Court and the Judicial Service Commission. We shall surely need them.” It must have been easy to charm his victim, who is a known right leaning. But just to sweeten the broth, my guess is that he dangled a “we’ll front you for the next CJ”…