Author: NLM Correspondent

By NLM Writer Fuel retailers have been absorbing huge losses as a result of unexplained fuel under-deliveries from a major oil marketing company (OMC). To make matters worse, dealers narrated to the Nairobi Law Monthly (NLM) how Total Kenya has regularly refused to take responsibility for the theft of fuel during delivery, and ignored their complaints. In one of the complaints dated January 2019, the Kenya National Petroleum Dealers Association (KENAPEDE) in ‘A Summary of the Main Issues Facing Total Kenya Dealers’ and addressed to Edward Kinyua of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (formerly known as Energy Regulatory Commission)…

By NLM Writer In late June 2020, a consultative meeting between Tanzania’s oil marketing companies (OMCs) and the country’s Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) was scuttled by police who stormed the venue with specific orders and names. They had the names of people they wanted to accompany them: Total Tanzania’s MD Jean-Francois Schoepp, Puma Supply Manager Adam Eliewinga and Oryx’s representative August Dominick. The reason for their dramatic arrest, the Tanzanian authorities said, was because the oil firms represented by those arrested had allegedly been hoarding fuel products and thereby causing artificial shortages in anticipation of significant price increases…

By Priyanka deSouza According to the State of the Global Air 2020 report, ambient air pollution was responsible for around 5,000 premature deaths in Kenya in 2019 alone. It is the fourth most important risk factor in driving death and disability combined in Kenya. Indeed, the 2017 national economic survey estimated that 19.9 million Kenyans suffer from respiratory ailments that are exacerbated by poor air quality. Kenya’s national environmental management agency imposed regulations in 2014 for national ambient air quality standards. These set out the maximum permissible concentrations of different widespread pollutants for residential and industrial areas. The regulations also laid out steps to be taken for “prevention, control…

Africa summit with EU an opportunity to assert that the relationship is mutually beneficial only if Africa produces what it consumes By Kako Nubukpo Africa’s summit meeting with the European Union (EU) in 2021 is a critical opportunity to assert that the relationship is mutually beneficial only if Africa produces what it consumes. Europe should in turn practice the solidarity it preaches in principle, by supporting capacity building in Africa for self-sufficiency. Africa needs to stand firm, with a clear, long-term vision, in order to forge with the EU a common and equitable path to prosperity. The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate…

By Elisabeth King, Dana Burde, Daphna Harel and Jennifer Hill Reflecting on the divisions and conflict that arose during Kenya’s contested 2017 elections, President Uhuru Kenyatta recently said that he and his main opponent in that election, Raila Odinga, closed ranks after the contest with a symbolic handshake and a pledge to reform the political landscape. And so was born the Building Bridges Initiative and a taskforce charged with examining the key challenges facing Kenya. Just recently released, the taskforce’s recommendations for constitutional change are being hotly debated. Among the issues somewhat buried in the 204-page report is a section on “inclusivity”. It…

By Antony Mutunga “Taxes are how we pool our money for public health and safety, infrastructure, research, and services–from the development of vaccines and the Internet to public schools and universities, transportation, courts, police, parks, and safe drinking water” – Holly Skylar Ideally, taxes are meant to be used to offer services to citizens. And in some countries, especially developed ones, this is the case. In many developing countries, governments often fail to utilize the taxes they collect to better the lives and economies of the citizens. Corruption and mismanagement have seen huge margins of public revenue squandered. In general,…

Why is there a lack of parliamentary participation in African double taxation agreements? By Everlyn Muendo and Leonard Wanyama The recent nullification of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) by several African governments has been a ground-breaking moment in tax justice advocacy, revenue debates and pursuits of economic justice in general. DTAs are pacts which divide taxing rights between two or more states on cross border income and are sometimes interchangeably referred to as Double Taxation Treaties (DTTs). Kenya, Senegal and Zambia each cancelled their respective DTAs with Mauritius. This was based on the realization that in one way or another their…

What CJ Maraga lacks in color he more than makes up for in mental fortitude and a great sense of leadership By Shadrack Muyesu It is, frankly, not true – or fair – to say that David Kenani Maraga was a judge without a philosophy as has often been said about him. Throughout his two decades as a superior court judge, and more so in his last years of service at the Supreme Court, the good judge has distinguished himself as a naturalist to the core, in moral terms, a conservative, and, most importantly, in constitutional context, an activist –…

By Austin Ekea David Kenani Maraga, post-independent Kenya’s 14th Chief Justice will, in all probability, go down as the most controversial CJ Kenya has had. His judgments on serious constitutional matters have been as polarizing as they have been groundbreaking, with serious political ramifications. In perhaps his most famous judgment, Maraga’s Court made history in Kenya and Africa as the first to nullify a Presidential election when it set aside President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win in 2017. In declaring the president invalidly elected, Maraga made the now-famous declaration, “The greatness of a nation relies on its fidelity to the constitution and adherence to…

Collaboration between Africa and Europe can speed up progress on energy transformation By Professor Emanuela Colombo Africa is running fast towards its history, but the marathon is always a long-haul challenge, in which the way in which energy is mastered can make a difference between success and failure. Energy is the lifeblood of society, but the energy-climate-development requires a good balance between over-exploitation of resources and their use for human activity. That is why Africa needs a sustainable energy system providing reliable, affordable and clean energy for boosting local socio-economic development to comply with the aspiration of the African Union’s…