Author: NLM Correspondent

By Kenyatta Otieno The preacher in the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes said that there is nothing new under the sun. The problems facing our football industry in general and the two clubs with massive support, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards’, in particular are not new. Let’s consider the South African club Orlando Pirates and how two people solved the same problem in two different ways. The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL), like Kenya, has two clubs with massive support: Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. The two clubs derive their support from the Johannesburg suburb of Soweto. Their rivalry is…

It was a sigh of relief when the National Assembly expunged Clause 34 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Bill (2014), which would have made it illegal for any person to “publish any false or scandalous libel on Parliament, its committees or its proceedings, or speak words defamatory of Parliament, its committees or its proceedings”. This came a day after the President – perhaps bowing to public pressure – during his Mashujaa Day address urged Members of Parliament to “re-look at the Media Bill and ensure it does not infringe on constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and media.” Details…

By David Matende For the first time in Kenya’s history, there is a newspaper dedicated to reporting Turkana. The Turkana Guardian may not be the best edited newspaper, and neither does it claim any sophistication as far as production is concerned. But it is clearly a sign of the changed times, literally and figuratively. The emergence of the Turkana Guardian, Vihiga Star, Gusii Times, Kirinyaga Star and Narok News, among other publications, is proof of the desire by people for local news, just as they desired devolution of government and resources. That these newspapers have proliferated in two years shows…

By DR Tom Odhiambo Africa seems ripe for the taking again. And this time around it isn’t a bunch of men stuck in some smoke-filled room somewhere in Europe, Asia, Latin America or India, scheming how to chop and chop Africa. No, our great-grandchildren won’t have to blame some faceless mzungu, mhindi or mchina when they find themselves dirt poor and enslaved to banks with headquarters in some Chinese city; they will likely be shown papers, signed by their leaders and endorsed by the silence of their ancestors, handing over chunks of Africa’s forests, farmlands, mineral-filled lands, factories or cities…

Elsie Oyoo At the Fedora Ballroom of the Kempinski Hotel in Nairobi, oil and gas professionals met for a one-and-half day legal conference running from September 18–19, 2015. The agenda was to give an international spin to matters in oil and gas law in East Africa. The 80 or so attendants included advocates from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. British solicitors, in-house counsel, business chiefs and Kenyan and Scottish academics also graced the event. The conference was organised by Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), a Global Legal Practice, Anjarwalla and Khanna Advocates (A&K), the University of Dundee, Centre for Energy, Petroleum and…

AGNES awino In the recent past in Kenya, the debate on local content requirements has raised dust within and beyond the petroleum sector. With all the talk, we could do with some clarity on the related underpinning legal principles. The following extract of an interview with Professor Albert Mumma, Energy Law Lecturer at the University of Nairobi, offers some insight. Thinking about the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Draft Bill, 2015, and the local content requirements, there has been disgruntlement among local communities. They claim they are not getting what they should out of the petroleum in their area, but…

Lanji Ouko Before the promulgation of the Constitution in 2010, the law did not stipulate the fate of children born out of wedlock, in terms of maintenance and child support. Section 24 (3) of the Children Act, 2001 provided that where the child’s father and mother were not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth and have not subsequently married each other, the mother shall have parental responsibility at the first instance. Under Section 25, the father only acquired parental responsibility for the child if he applied to the court for it, through an agreement with…

Harold Ayodo Concerns have come to the fore over family laws that compel spouses to remain bed fellows in marriages that are empty shells. Lawyers attending a recent Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Seminar on Family Laws at Hilton Hotel in Nairobi are now calling for amendment of family laws to allow spouses to divorce on mutual consent – which is currently not allowed. In daily life, when marriages hit the rocks, some couples prefer to end it with as little trauma as possible – by mutual consent as provided for in countries like the US and India. Locally, it is…

Dr Charles Khamala Because government-related agencies themselves fail to correct private sector market distortions – for both justice as efficiency and/or to obtain equity – there emerges a voluntary, not-for-profit sector. According to William Twining, “perhaps the most important problem that faces the legal profession in a poor, developing country is how to provide adequate legal services for the public at large where most to the public is indigent.” This is because, he says, “Under the British influence the adversary model of judicial proceedings has been imported into East Africa.” The function of non-governmental organisations is not to supplant the…

Vincent Chahale The Kenyan Constitution has been lauded as one of the most progressive in the world, on account of its broad approach, appreciation and specific provisions on fundamental rights as provided in the Bill of Rights, the vesting of sovereignty in the people, the decongestion of power (executive, legislative and judicial) and devolution. The placement of the provisions for socio-economic rights in the Bill of Rights as opposed to having them imbued in the preamble as directive principles of state policy enhances their guarantee. However, the main task in ensuring these gains are realised is through appropriate implementation strategies…