Author: NLM Correspondent

By Misheck Mutize Adebt service relief package has been approved by some of the world’s biggest lenders for more than 25 African countries. The arrangement includes the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the G20, the African Development Bank, and all Paris Club creditors. The goal was to free up more than $20 billion governments could use to buttress their health services. Some have called for outright debt cancellation to lessen the debt burden on African countries as they emerge from the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most African states will have high public debt as they use all available…

By Michelle Mielly Memes may be all the rage in these heady days of digital trending, but they’re not a new thing. Ever since Richard Dawkins coined the term in his popular 1976 book ‘The Selfish Gene’, scientists have been putting memes under the microscope. For Dawkins, memes were discrete units of cultural inheritance (gossip, images, fashion fads, catchphrases) that, by virtue of their rapid dissemination and adoption, drive cultural evolution, just as genes propel forth our biology. In other words, memes can change the world with “likes” and “shares”. There’s even a field dedicated to their study: memetics considers…

By Chris Baker In Egypt, teenager Menna Abdel Aziz used social media to ask for protection after a sexual assault. She was arrested on a variety of charges, including misusing social media and corrupting family values. Two young women, Haneen Hossam, with 915,000 TikTok followers, and Mawada Eladhm, with 3.1 million TikTok followers) were also arrested for their social influencing videos. Renad Imad, another social media influencer, was arrested after allegations of posting indecent content and prostitution. In late June, belly dancer Sama El-Masry was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for posts to TikTok and other social media. These and…

Essentially, automation and artificial intelligence have the ability to serve as lawyer equalizers. Today, and certainly in the future, the study posited, attorneys will be able to run fast and win By Jenn Betts A study was recently published on what makes a great lawyer in the age of artificial intelligence. The study suggested that a great lawyer, historically, was someone who had a strong memory, vast experience in a field and a sterling education. The distance runner rather than the sprinter. With the advent of artificial intelligence and digital solutions, the study’s thesis was that attorneys will be able…

By Mike O’Sullivan In May 2016, at a summit on anti-corruption the then British Prime Minister David Cameron said in hushed tones to Queen Elizabeth, “We’ve got leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain… Nigeria and Afghanistan, possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world”. A month later he lost the Brexit referendum and the UK has been in a state of chaos ever since. Nigeria most likely had little hand in Brexit, but the complacency of Cameron did. So too, according to a Commons Intelligence and Security Committee’s report into Russian influence in British politics, did…

Phoebe Kwamboka Matoya vs. Simba & Simba Advocates [2019] eKLR By Shadrack Muyesu Facts The Claimant was employed by the Respondent as a secretary starting September 3, 2001. On 10 September 2014, the Respondent’s Managing Partner wrote to the Claimant to inform her of the termination of her employment. The Respondent indicated in the letter that it was terminating the contract of employment in the exercise of its option under Clause Six of the contract and that the Claimant would be paid one month salary in lieu of notice. No other reason was given. Issues In Court, the Claimant testified…

By Noble Banadda A number of technological advances have revolutionised human reproduction in the past few decades. One example is in vitro fertilisation (IVF), the process of fertilising a woman’s eggs with a man’s sperm in the laboratory. This can be a solution when men and women have problems conceiving. It also allows infertile couples to use donor sperm or eggs. Other examples include embryo transfer and pre-implantation genetic testing. The first means embryos created outside the body can be frozen, stored and later transferred into a womb. The second allows prospective parents who have or carry genetic diseases to…

By Gilbert Muyumbu The establishment of the modern state in Kenya on June 1, 1886 was not a process that followed any universally accepted rule of law. It was a foreign imposition on the African populations which then lived in a space that would later be referred to as Kenya. As a foreign imposition, it lacked legitimacy and acceptance among a majority of Africans and thus faced stiff resistance from many of them. In order to overcome the resistance, function as a state and extract cooperation from Africans, it engaged in uncountable excesses and human rights violations. Postcolonial theorist Achille…

To counter a n ever-growing threat to food security, the Kenyan government has identified fish farming as a workable solution. By Antony Mutunga The threat of desert locusts and the COVID-19 pandemic have seen food insecurity grow as crops are destroyed and those dependent on them for a living are forced to hike prices in order to survive. In fact, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 25 million people are expected to face food shortages in East Africa in the coming months as a result. To counter this growing threat to food security, the Kenyan government has…

Africa is a global hot spot for the origination of online fraud; its digital economies are also advancing. Kenya leads the African continent in the use of digital credit – but as growing numbers of consumers and businesses transact online during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for business and consumer protection against increasing fraud levels has become critical. Billy Owino, CEO of TransUnion Kenya, says financial institutions and businesses must deploy robust identity verification and fraud detection tools that do not hinder the customer experience to manage their risks and avoid losses at a time when demand for credit is…