Author: NLM Correspondent

As the Sub-Saharan African economy struggles to recover from the 2020 recession induced by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the region now faces new economic growth challenges, compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse, a biannual analysis of the near-term regional macroeconomic outlook, estimates growth at 3.6 percent in 2022, down from 4 percent in 2021 as the region continues to deal with new COVID-19 variants, global inflation, supply disruptions and climate shocks. Adding to the region’s growth challenges are rising global commodity prices, which are increasing at a faster pace since the onset of the…

By Gilbert Muyumbu As we saw in the first part of this article, the Kibaki administration faced perhaps the most dynamic rule of law contexts of any administration in Kenya’s history. At least three dimensions characterised the context: retention of the status quo inherited from the preceding Moi era, which constituted the first dimension; managing the post-election crisis, which formed the second dimension; and adopting the new 2010 constitution, which characterised the third dimension. Just as activities, movements and shifts in the larger cosmos have effects which we see here on planet earth, the activities, movements and shifts in the…

Courts are not so sacrosanct as to be above criticism BY Kabakua Mbogori While delivering the BBI judgment on March 31, 2022, the Chief Justice (CJ) and the president of the Supreme Court, Martha Koome, made a surprising remark that caught everybody unawares. The statement admonished three outspoken lawyers for what the CJ termed the” use of social media to disparage the court to lower the dignity and authority of the court or influence the outcome of a case pending before the court.” According to the CJ, “for counsel to appear before the apex court then proceed to hurl unnecessary…

By Omwanza Ombati On March 31, 2022, the Supreme Court of Kenya rendered its decision in Attorney General v Ndii & 73 others; Akech (Amicus curiae) (Petition E016 of 2021) [2021] KESC 20 (KLR), (hereinafter the BBI Judgment), where it addressed itself on seven pertinent issues. The Supreme Court of Kenya (SCOK) had the opportunity to address itself on seven (7) broad grounds discerned from the appeal to which it held: The Basic Structure Doctrine does not apply in Kenya; The President cannot initiate a popular initiative of a constitutional amendment under article 257 of the Constitution; The Second Schedule…

By Jonathan Muneno The global economic crisis triggered by the outbreak of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year has intensified the risk of declining trade integration between countries. A process referred to as the deglobalisation of trade. The pandemic sent shocks through supply chains across the world. As a result, companies in some advanced economies have started to prioritise bringing production that was previously outsourced to Asia back home – or closer to home. The expectation is that this will avert ongoing – and future – supply-chain disruptions, ensuring a steady and reliable supply of goods. …

The tips of the butterfly: Linking East Asia and Africa By Greg Mills and Marie-Noelle Nwokolo In the late 1990s, South Africa’s then-Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin likened the country’s trade strategy to a “butterfly,” according to which the thorax ran north-south to Europe and North America, while the “wings” oriented west-east were to link Africa with Latin America and Asia. Erwin’s concept promised much then, as now, for a diversification effort, but so far has delivered less. Still, there is much to gain from closer regional ties, in at least two respects. The first of these is underscored…

In May 2019, a data breach affected more than 11.5 million Safaricom subscribers; Safaricom employees carried it out. After a whistle-blower, Mr Benard Kabugi, reported the matter to Safaricom and the police, a sting operation was conducted that helped identify and arrest the perpetrators, with the whistle-blower, Benedict Kabugi, variously treated as a prosecution witness and afterwards as part of the ring that stole subscriber data. At the behest of Safaricom, Mr Kabugi was arrested and charged in court for ‘demanding hundreds of millions of shillings’ as bounty hunting fees. Miffed by this turn of events, Mr Kabugi filed a…

By NLM Writer Safaricom overlooked red flags while rogue staff stole data of some 11.5 million subscribers to trade the same with a famous sports gaming company, according to court documents that the Nairobi Law Monthly has obtained in the ongoing criminal and civil cases. The documents also reveal that the destination of the massive data was Pevans East Africa, a sports betting firm that trades as SportPesa, though the deal it appears did not come to fruition.   The civil and criminal cases reveal a leak that could have been prevented, a sports betting firm’s hand and how Safaricom fumbled…

By Prof John Harbeson At the beginning of March, the United Nations General Assembly voted 141 to 5 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It demanded the immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine. Twenty-five sub-Saharan African delegations voted for the resolution, including Kenya, Djibouti, and Somalia from the Horn of Africa region. Of the nearly one-third of the UN delegations that did not support this resolution, twenty-five African sub-Saharan delegations were among thirty-five abstained, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Eight African countries did not vote at all, including Ethiopia. Eritrea voted against the resolution joining…

By Shadrack Wanjala Nasong’o Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki, who died at the age of 90, was born on November 15, 1931, in Othaya, Nyeri, in the central highlands of Kenya. He spent a lifetime in public service. He served as president of Kenya – the third after independence – from 2002 to 2013, a critical period in Kenya’s transition from a one-party state to democracy. He also served as the fourth vice-president (1978 to 1988) under President Daniel arap Moi. To his friends and admirers, Kibaki was a gentleman who survived the murky Kenyan politics unscathed. The qualities he was…