Author: NLM Correspondent

INTRODUCTION The Commission on Administrative Justice, also known as the Office of the Ombudsman, (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) is a Constitutional Commission established pursuant to Article 59(4) and Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Kenya, as read with the Commission on Administrative Justice Act, 2011. Under Article 249(1) of the Constitution, the Commission alongside others, has the mandate to protect the sovereignty of the people, while also ensuring observance by state organs of fair administrative action, democratic values and principles on which the Constitution is based. Further, Article 59(2)(h) and (i) of the Constitution, which is replicated…

Kenya’s Opposition has for long been a clueless lot, jerking to life when prompted by some scandal or when one of their own is in peril. Perhaps the nature of our politics has fashioned politicians not in government to remain lukewarm to the cause of an alternative government . It has to be admitted, however, even by those who pride themselves in peddling sycophancy that the current Opposition has done well in keeping government in check. Cord has exposed scandals, held sustained campaigns to demand accountability, and compelled government to rethink certain controversial decisions. For this, its leaders have been…

Prof joseph Kieyah As cannot be repeated too often, the peaceful promulgation of the Constitution 2010 was a major milestone. It symbolised both an end to something and a renewal. The 68 per cent ratification vote embodied Kenyans’ audacious act of self-determination, and their desire to replace a colonially imposed order with a revolutionary, people-centered constitutional democracy. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of optimism to millions of Kenyans who were zealously determined to change the course of history. The need to change was hastened by the traumatic post election violence of 2007 that almost tore us…

Government’s closet is full of skeletons, which include failed promises, mismatched priorities, utter arrogance and lack of strategy.  But the ugliest of them all is corruption. Government is yet to fulfil any of its anchor promises contained in the manifesto on whose premise President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto strode to power. Unlike President Kibaki who, within the first week of his swearing in, declared primary education free, Uhuru’s pet project, the laptops for class one pupils, are yet to get to the classrooms, three years on. The first lot that would have benefited from this project is…

Aden Duale Considering the events from as far back as the General Election in 2013, the question that Kenyans need to ask themselves is whether the Opposition Cord has lived up to the task of shadowing government. This question is fundamental because in a democracy like ours, the Opposition has a fundamental role to play. In my honest, view Cord has failed completely in this onerous and critical role, choosing instead to dwell on sideshows. What government needs is an honest Opposition whose politics is driven by substantive issues that positively shape the destiny of this country. When an Opposition…

Payton Mathau On December 11, a five-judge bench of the High Court comprising Justices Richard Mwongo, Weldon Korir, Christine Meoli, Hedwig Ong’udi and Charles Kariuki delivered a historic, precedent-setting judgment on what the correct retirement age for judges ought to be. The judgment was in response to an application by Supreme Court judges Kalpana Rawal (Deputy Chief Justice) and Philip Tunoi, who had argued that they should continue serving until they attain 74 years. The Constitution caps the retirement age for judges at 70 years. In a unanimous judgment, the court was emphatic that the two judges must retire once…

Alfa Femi Elections for the female representative of magistrates in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) were conducted in early December. Although there were four candidates vying, it was obvious from the start that the real battle was going to be between the incumbent Emily Ominde and Doreen Mulecho. The other candidate, Julie Oseko, was seen by many as a mere spoiler, running at the behest of political operatives and wheeler dealers who wanted Ms Ominde gone. Like in all elections in the country, voter bribery and the political of ethnicity and bribe played out in full view of the both…

Eric Nyakagwa When President Uhuru Kenyatta chose to appoint three cabinet secretaries from amongst politicians in 2013 – Land’s Charity Ngilu, Labour’s Kazungu Kambi and Mining’s Najib Balala – he went against his own promise before elections that only he and his deputy William Ruto would be the only politicians sitting at cabinet meetings. At the time, he defended his decision by stating they would cease to be politicians by relinquishing any party positions they then held. It did not take long for the President and his advisers to realise that picking public and private sector technocrats, some with admittedly…

Jane Wachira Africa, the world’s second largest and second most populous continent, is made up of 54 immensely diverse countries that are both deeply troubled and profoundly uplifting. I will focus on the former. It is considered to be the oldest inhabited territory on earth, and the cradle of humankind. Earliest traces of civilisation date back to 3300 BC, with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic civilisation of ancient Egypt. Fast forward to the 11th-19th century, the age of pre colonialism, and it possessed as many as 10,000 different states and polities, characterised by different sorts of political organisation…

Dr Willy mutunga Five years ago, the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 fundamentally restructured the Kenyan state and ushered in a new devolved system of government. Devolution was born of the real challenges that Kenyans had grappled with since independence, including the need for accountable exercise of power, effective self-governance, equitable social and economic development, entrenchment of public participation, and the implementation of the subsidiary principle in governance. Simultaneously, devolution was entrenched in the Constitution as a means of recognising and accommodating Kenya’s rich diversity and ensuring robust protection for minorities and marginalised communities, including women. But we…