Author: NLM Correspondent

Prof John Harbeson The hundreds of thousands of migrants risking everything to try to reach stable, functioning states in Europe and the Americas brings dramatically to the fore a much more fundamental problem than the gigantic humanitarian crisis it represents, as important as that is. That deeper problem is figuring just what the key requirements are for a stable state in the 21st Century. While the majority of these migrants may appear to be from the Middle East, they also are coming from sub-Saharan Africa as well, notably Eritrea. Moreover, to these throngs must be added the hundreds of thousands…

The Nature Conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Service and Tencent Corporation are working together to raise awareness about protecting wildlife and about China’s relationship with Kenya in combating the illegal wildlife trade. Tencent Corporation, a leading provider of Internet services in Asia, is travelling to Kenya to see wildlife conservation in action. Under the leadership of Tencent CEO and The Nature Conservancy China Board member Pony Ma, Tencent joined The Nature Conservancy and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in a joint campaign to combat the illegal online wildlife trade on Tencent’s social media platforms. “In recent years, wildlife is increasingly threatened…

By Caroline Theuri Last year Kenyans celebrated 51 years as a republic on December 12. And even as we commemorate our 52nd anniversary, a combination of historical ethnic fault lines appear to deny Kenyans full human rights the foothold needed to entrench them. Given the current human rights struggle, it is only best to recapture some of the gloom and doom of the colonial era. Historians feel that these struggles did not start yesterday and that scenario where the country has operated like a police state every time there was a serious demonstration by human rights groups ought to end.…

The resignation of former Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning Anne Waiguru may have come as a shocker to many. This is particularly because of the stance she had taken despite public outcry demanding her resignation following allegations and revelations of massive corruption in her docket. She was arguably one of the most visible cabinet secretaries in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, handling an elaborate docket and therefore creating the impression she was powerful. Despite the “noise” as various actors called for her resignation and/or stepping aside, her place in government seemed well fortified. If anything, a report presented to the…

In the build up to 2017 African Cup of Nations finals, Kenya played Zambia in a Group E qualifiers match on Sunday September 6 in Nairobi. Kenya’s coach Bobby Williamson sent out a cry well in advance. He lamented our lack of creative midfielders to launch attacks, which has reduced our chances of scoring goals in international matches. The Scott is damn right even if some people may have looked at it as an excuse for lack of preparation. Lacklustre preparation for our national team is as common as the drama that emanates from the camp; it is not new.…

If the pollsters are right, eight out of ten Kenyans will take media’s word to the bank. When it comes to public trust, it has no rival. But is media worthy of the faith people have in it, especially in these times of unabashed larceny?  When was the last time media ran an expose’ on corruption or misuse of power by those in authority? One would be hard pressed to remember a single case in recent times. Had the Auditor–General, Controller of Budget, Parliament and others not fingered the shady fat cats in the various state departments, Kenyans would probably…

There is a Swahili saying, “mwacha mila ni mtumwa”, that suggests that those who ignore their culture(s) are slaves. The implication of this statement is that culture is the pillar on which individual and collective identities are founded. Culture teaches us how to think, behave, eat, speak, love, bring up children, care for the old, respect elders and the young, treat those who are ill, host strangers, relate to our enemies, fight, make peace, bury the dead,  remember the past, dream of the future, etc. Art is often the expression of a people’s culture in words, body movements, signs and…

The world is on the brink of a game-changing explosion in the financial services sector, propelled by Islamic finance. The rising demand for Sharia-compliant financial products, the need for innovative investment opportunities and the search for new ways of accessing finance continues to drive the double digit growth of the Islamic finance industry. Islamic finance assets grew at double–digit rates during the past decade, from about $200 billion (Sh20.5 trillion) in 2003 to an estimated $1.8trillion (Sh184 trillion) at the end of 2013, according to the latest International Monetary Fund report on the sector. Sharia-compliant banking has evolved to become…

Beginning in the early nineteen-eighties, students on college campuses across the U.S. demanded that their universities stop investing in companies that conducted business in South Africa, in protest of the apartheid system. As an example of social activism, the campaign was a phenomenal success: by the end of the decade, about a hundred and fifty educational institutions had divested. But did the campaign succeed in pressuring the South African government to dismantle apartheid? The answer is less obvious than you might think. The economists Siew Hong Teoh, Ivo Welch, and C. Paul Wazzan studied how U.S. divestment movements affected the…

Kenya, more than the rest of the countries in the EAC bloc, is fast emerging as the preferred investment destination for multinational companies. The regional market is the target of foreign firms from the European Union, China, US and even within the continent for the investment opportunities it offers in various sectors following the establishment of the EAC Common Market in 2010. The EAC common market is attractive to investors as it currently has over 153 million consumers. Recently, the EU has been negotiating a bilateral agreement – the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) – with the EAC that could greatly…