Author: NLM Correspondent

By David Matende Last month, one of Africa’s most celebrated cartoonists, Godfrey Mwampembwa (Gado), was formally fired by his employer, Nation Media Group. The humourist had been in the cold since last year after his bosses forced him to take a sabbatical. His mistake? Lampooning East African leaders, particularly the flip-flopping President Uhuru Kenyatta. While the sacking of Gado is yet another sign that press freedom in Kenya is under threat, it at the same time a recognition of the potent power of political cartoonists in particular and of satire in general. The cartoonist has had a field day since…

By Nadrat Mazrui Sexual harassment refers to bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favours. It can include unwelcome sexual advances. In most legal contexts, sexual harassment is illegal. It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) based on that person’s sex. In the workplace, harassment can be considered illegal when it is so severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment. The legal and social understanding of sexual harassment, however, varies by culture. In case of employment, the harasser can be the…

By Anthony Mutunga “By reading this article, one agrees to the following terms and conditions (T&Cs) which I stipulate one has to adhere to, a) in the presence of others, one will have to address everyone else only by their first names and nothing more; b) one has to give me (the writer) whatever they have in their pockets at the time of impact. By the fact alone that you read this article, under the law you are required to follow these terms…” This is unfair, right? Well unfair or not, if this was an online platform, and you agreed…

By Leonard Wanyama It was surprising to see the subtle announcement of changes in Kenya’s trade diplomacy structure so soon after the World Trade Organisation 10th Ministerial Conference (WTO-MC10) in Nairobi last year. A keen observer could not miss the transfer of international trade activities and functions to the Ministry of Industrialisation in evaluations of the conference. Considering the tone of celebration from the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amina Mohamed, this development could be perceived as a policy indicator that all may not have gone well in terms of agreements reached at the conference. Alternative perspectives of WTO-MC10 based…

A few years ago, I attended East African Community meetings, hosted by the EAC Secretariat as part of the Kenya delegation. One meeting sought to develop an action plan for preventing and combating corruption while the other was specialists from member countries to develop a draft protocol on good governance. During these meetings, participants lamented on the slow pace of progress, especially considering the subjects of discussion – anti-corruption and good governance – were issues that ordinarily one would not expect toil in finding points of convergence. It took us, for example, half a day to come up with a…

By Demas Kiprono February 2016 marked eight years since former President Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed the National Dialogue and Reconciliation Agreement. The “National Accord” sought to provide a peaceful solution to the political impasse and violence that had engulfed the country following the disputed December 2007 General Election that saw over 1300 people killed, thousands injured, many raped and maimed, and over 500,000 forcefully displaced from their homes. Through the agreement, the parties agreed to immediately work towards stopping the violence in order to restore fundamental rights and liberties; address the humanitarian IDP crisis, promote reconciliation, healing and restoration;…

By Harriet Kanaiza Akibaya On January 21, 2016, the Government of Kenya, led by the Attorney-General Prof Githu Muigai appeared before the Convention on the Rights of the Child Committee of Experts to give a report on the implementation of child rights in the country. Among the key concerns for the Committee was that the country had lagged behind in the formulation of a progressive legal and policy framework, to guarantee children who are not within family set ups proper care. The Committee urged the Government to take steps aimed at ensuring that the review of the Children Act, a…

By Shadrack Sharu Muyesu “Litigation must obey both substantive and procedural law, anything else only amounts to ‘woishe’ litigation for which the courts can do nothing apart from sympathise” – Elisha Zebedee Ongoya, Lawyer Just ask one-time Thai supremo Thaksin Shinawatra about corruption and he will happily tell you about it. While his niece Ms Yingluck Shinawatra continues to cool her heels in a tough Thai remand facility, the old man is wanted back home for alleged corruption, money laundering and embezzlement, globe trots. A fugitive, he does everything possible to ensure that Thai authorities do not get to him,…

By Duncan Okubasu I pay homage to democracy as an important political ideal – an instructive priority and an affirmative aspiration under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. I do not advance the argument that Article 201 (d) is rendered obsolete when the IEBC is compelled to hold an election because the person voters chose has been nominated as a Cabinet Secretary. Instead, I attempt to examine resignation of a member of parliament to take up a position of a Cabinet Secretary at the level of abstraction in an effort to respond to a thesis that it is an encroachment on…

By Kelvin Mugwe The Kenyan society has perfected the art of “touch and go”. Political, social and economic occurrences are at times received with insurmountable excitement and at times utter disgust. However, the emotions instigated by these occurrences quickly subside upon the emergence of new incidents. The opinions and feelings of the hoi polloi immediately shift to the latter incident and the former becomes almost non-existent. Despite this penchant to briskly indulge in new issues and turn a blind eye to the older ones, there are matters that have become inherently attached to Kenyans. One such matter is betting, which…