Author: NLM Correspondent

Kenya said last month it was ready to quit the International Criminal Court if it did not get assurances about the handling of the trial of its vice president, hardening a rift between African powers and the tribunal. Vice President William Ruto is facing charges of crimes against humanity including murder, deportation and persecution linked to an outburst of ethnic killings after the 2007 presidential election. Two senior Kenyan government lawyers told Reuters that Nairobi wanted promises that a new rule allowing the court to use testimony from witnesses who had since decided to withdraw could not be applied retrospectively…

According to a 2014 study by Michael Ng’alu and Dr Emily Bommett titled “The Role of CDF in Provision of Secondary School Education”, CDF has given hope to the children of Kilome constituency. In the she semi-arid constituency, through CDF, poor but deserving secondary students have been able to receive bursaries, and infrastructure such as classrooms and laboratories built. In Laikipia West District, CDF has had a positive effect in secondary education. In the 2007/8 financial year, for instance, the education sector received 6.6 million from CDF, with most of it going to employ non-teaching and teaching staff in highly…

After almost five years, I returned to Kenya for a whirlwind two-week visit in late October and early November. My visit coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of my first visit to Kenya for two years in 1965, less than two years after independence, when I was a research fellow at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. My overarching sense is that Kenya’s democratisation momentum may have reached a plateau. Democracy is firmly rooted in important ways that one can easily overlook in the maelstrom of controversies, many very serious, that swirl continually. But I did not…

Two days after Anne Waiguru retired as Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary, President Uhuru presented a passionate speech about the state of corruption in the country, in which he gave ten broad action points which he intends to pursue to end graft. Several theories have been proposed as to the motivation of that speech, and the reshuffling of Cabinet that followed a day later, not least that it was driven by Waiguru’s retirement – arguably his most powerful and trusted CS. Others have attributed to the Pope’s visit last month – he did give a similarly charged address to the…

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has published a list of candidates seeking various positions in its upcoming elections. The lawyers are scheduled to elect a President, Vice President, Council and a female representative in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Other positions include representatives in the Disciplinary Tribunal, Chairperson and Council of the newly established Nairobi branch. Among those seeking the President’s post are James Aggrey Mwamu, Allen Waiyaki Gichuhi and Okero Isaac Edwin Nicholas. Jennifer Mary Shamalla and Faith Waguthi Waigwa are contending for the position of Vice President. Candidates for the position of JSC Representative are Abuodha Jane Awuor, Deche Mercy…

BY David Wanjala “The moment the words ‘sentenced to death’ are pronounced in court on your judgment day, life changes forever. It is total confusion and despair. Between choosing to believe the reality of what you’ve just heard and resisting it hoping the nightmare will soon end paving way for normalcy, you are whisked away as the devastated family members present give up hope on you. The world ends there,” says Antony Ongulu Deba, a death row inmate at the Kamiti Maximum Prison. The father of three was sentenced to hang in February 2012 on charges of murder. The Court…

BY TOM ODHIAMBO If you opened the literature and culture pages of the Saturday Nation, you’d imagine that there is a national disaster in the country. There are endless complaints about the state of the English language and Literature in our schools. There are cries about the poor use – or is it usage – of English. Apparently thousands of school going children in Kenyan can’t write or spell in proper English. We don’t hear much about Kiswahili though. There are tens of outpourings of nostalgia, of the days when Kenyans apparently spoke proper and clean English. But there is…

BY JARED JUMA Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law. As a body of law, it deals with the decision-making of administrative units of government – tribunals, boards or commissions, for example – that are part of a national regulatory scheme in such areas as police law, international trade, manufacturing, and disciplinary processes the environment, taxation,  broadcasting,  immigration  and  transport. Administrative law expanded greatly during the 12th Century, as legislative bodies worldwide created more government agencies to regulate the increasingly complex social, economic and political spheres of human interaction. While administrative…

BY BEVERLINE ONGARO The administration of bail and bond by courts and police officers is a crucial procedure in the Kenyan criminal justice system. At the fulcrum of bail and bond administration is the need to balance adherence to the Constitutional right of an  arrested or accused person to bail, the rights of the victims of crimes and the public interest for safety by keeping away persons deemed to be a threat to safety via denying them bail. But attaining a balance of these rights and interests has been challenging when one considers the general administration of bail and bond.…

By Kevin Motaroki The past month has been as dramatic as it has been revealing and shocking. It began with EACC chair Mumo Matemu suspending deputy CEO Michael Mubea, which was swiftly reversed by the CEO, Halakhe Waqo the following day. Bribery, witch-hunting, nepotism and tender deals, it has emerged, sit at the centre of the current wars at EACC. As if that were the signal, every manner of accusation started flying, first against the chairman and other commissioners by the secretariat, and then against the CEO and his deputy by commissioners. The Office of the President, through spokesman Manoah…