Author: NLM Correspondent

BY DR WILLY MUTUNGA A Metaphor During a discussion with a Governor friend on the progress and retrogression of the implementation of the 2010 Constitution, he used the following metaphor: The Constitution gave birth to a beautiful child destined to grow and transform our Kenyan society in all its ideological, social, economic, cultural, spiritual and political aspects. The ultimate goal for this transformation would be to mitigate a neocolonial status quo, into a free, just, equitable and egalitarian, peaceful, prosperous, ecologically safe and democratic society. Such a society would lay a firm basis for a national discussion of its weaknesses…

By Kibe Mungai …President Kibaki signed into law a constitution that relegates detention without trial and political exile to the dustbin of our ignominious history under presidential authoritarian rule. The President will no longer be that feared monster whose edicts Kenyans loathed to listen to at one o’clock sacking people left right and centre and promoting incompetent cronies to the citadels of state power. There is no doubt that the checks and balances that we always wanted in government are enshrined in this constitution ushering in the Second Republic. Kenya is now home to a fundamental law of the land…

By Jacinta Maweu Kenya has witnessed post-election violence to varying degrees since the return of multiparty politics in 1992. The worst was in 2008. Since then the country has had two contested and deeply divisive elections (in 2013 and 2017). In the 2007/2008 post election violence, journalists and the media were partly blamed for dividing the country along ethnic lines. The mainstream media, in particular, were accused of biased reporting and for framing issues with implicit or explicit ethnic overtones. Some vernacular radio stations were also accused of fanning the violence by airing hate speech. But there’s been little focus…

By Kelsey Landau and Robin Lewis The oil, gas, and mining extractive industries have historically been male-dominated at all levels, from leadership roles in major corporations to jobs working in mines and on oil rigs. For example, in the 500 largest mining companies, women make up just five percent of boards of directors. Underrepresentation of women in these industries impedes opportunities for a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable natural resource governance landscape. The integration of gender provisions in the forthcoming revised Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Standard reflects a broader recognition in the global community of the linkages between gender…

By Rashawn Ray “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.” John Lewis made this statement on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 1, 2020 commemorating the tragic events of Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday occurred on March 7, 1965 as peaceful protesters were beaten by law enforcement officers for crossing the bridge. Lewis and others like Amelia Boynton Robinson were beaten so badly they were hospitalized. The context behind the march is significant. The 600-person civil rights march was actually about police brutality. Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26-year-old church deacon, was killed by…

The Chinese Century is here, and conflict between the US, as the waning power, and China, as the rising power, is inevitable. By Peter Wanyonyi As a teenager, James C. Humes, the former US Presidential Speechwriter, met former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Impressed by the teenager’s thirst for knowledge of statecraft, Churchill advised him, “Study history, study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.” The importance of history is, perhaps, most obvious in the discipline of geopolitics – which seeks to understand international politics and relations as influenced by geographical and other factors. Today’s world appears,…

Just how deep do the informal state powers wielded by David ‘Bwana Dawa’ Murathe run? By NLM Writer As tension mounted across the country in the lead-up to the repeat presidential election held on October 26, 2017, and following hot on the heels of the “we shall revisit” statement by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe went on national television and declared that the President would be a benevolent dictator in his second term. “What this country needs now is a benevolent dictator. People have been too soft so that things have gone rogue.” He was referring to…

Ten women peacebuilders in fragile or conflict-affected areas are recognized as finalists The US Institute of Peace (USIP) last month announced the 10 finalists for the inaugural Women Building Peace Award. This award recognizes the vital role of women who are working in fragile or conflict-affected countries in pursuit of peace. They are: Ángela Maria Escobar (Colombia), Asia Jamil (Pakistan), Beata Mukarubuga (Rwanda), Irene M. Santiago (The Philippines), Julienne Lusenge (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Odette Habonimana (Burundi), Rita Martin Lopidia Abraham (South Sudan), Rosa Emilia Salamanca González (Colombia), Tabassum Adnan (Pakistan), and Victoria Nyanjura (Uganda). USIP will announce the…

Nearly half of all the violence visited on African migrants during their journey to the Mediterranean coast is perpetrated by law enforcers, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said in July. According to a report by UNHCR and the Danish Refugee Council’s Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), thousands of refugees and migrants suffer extreme abuse including torture and sexual or gender-based violence, and in some cases death. The report is based on nearly 16,000 interviews with refugees and migrants. 47%Ratio of refugees, out of 16,000 interviewed, who fingered law enforcement as perpetrators. “In 47% of the cases, the victims reported the…

The European Union Mission in Kenya has launched a 15-month long initiative to help marginalized communities to fully implement government-imposed COVID-19 response measures by providing accurate information. The initiative, dubbed ‘Pamoja Dhidi ya Corona’ is locally adapted and transmitted by trusted messengers, allowing targeted communities to protect themselves from the virus. EU Ambassador for Kenya, Simon Mordue, said the initiative is part of a global Team Europe response to COVID-19 in which the EU member states have provided close to Sh40 billion in support for Kenya during the pandemic through a broad range of measures. “This initiative is essentially about…