Author: NLM Correspondent

Setting standards for prosecution and investigation By Ndung’u Wainaina and Soyinka Lempaa The constitutional architecture of Kenya has set clear principles on separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, with appropriate checks and balances to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness. Under the constitution of Kenya 2010, the traditional Montesquieuian principles of separation of powers was enhanced. Each arm of the state had countervailing powers to check on the other as pure separation of powers remains legal fiction. The doctrine of separation of powers is thus, by implication, a basic principle of Kenya’s constitutional order. The doctrine…

Sacked InformAction CEO accuses founder and veteran activist of refusing to hand over office, authorising or forcing irregular payments and inciting staff against him By Payton Mathau In a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted, two famous human rights defenders have their backs against the wall as they face accusations of doing the opposite of what they have been preaching – violating the rights of another in an employment and labour case currently before a court of law. Well-known rights activists Maina Kiai and Lucy Hannan, have been accused of orchestrating the premature sacking of Joseph Simekha, the former executive…

BY Ana Revenga and Meagan Dooley At a time when much of the world, is in lockdown, the often invisible and underappreciated work that women do all the time—at home, caring for children and families, caring for others (women make up three-quarters of health care workers), and in the classroom (women are the majority of teachers)—is becoming very visible. And its value is being recognised. Jokes abound by exhausted parents about how teachers should be paid a million dollars a day and videos of men showing off their baking skills abound in social media. Yet in ordinary times, much of “women’s work” is not…

“An equal world is an enabled world.” This bold statement forms part of 2020’s International Women’s Day theme. Now more than ever, with COVID-19 running rampant, nations across the globe require an enabled world. According to the John Hopkins University, Africa has reported more than 30,000 positive cases (all 54 countries now bearing confirmed cases) and more than 1,400 deaths. During a crisis such as this one, argues Shannon Henning, Director of Status Reputation Management Consultancy, Africa needs immediate measures and clear direction to keep those uninfected safe. Provide life-saving medical assistance to those have been contaminated by the coronavirus,…

How will COVID-19 transform global health and development? By Michael Igoe and Vince Chadwick The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruption for the global health and development community. Organizations fighting infectious disease, supporting health workers, delivering social services, and protecting livelihoods have moved to the very centre of the world’s attention. But they find their work complicated by challenges of access, safety, supply chain logistics, and financial stress like never before. The short-term implications of this global challenge are evident everywhere, but the long-term consequences of the pandemic — how it will reshape health and development institutions, occupations, and priorities — are still difficult…

By Peter Wanyonyi For a while, a long while, the world seemed to at least be coming right. The Western world had abandoned its colonial, protectionist mindset. Europe was coming together, the 27-member European Union had knocked down its borders, travel was as free as it was during the Roman Empire. Even the British, with their insular island isolationism, realised the need to maintain some freedom of movement with the rest of the world post-Brexit. In America, Donald Trump forced a new NAFTA agreement on Mexico and Canada and, once they signed up, relaxed his ultra-nationalism and trade flowed again…

Conflict landscape By Vanda Felbab-Brown For the past three decades, militia groups have been a defining feature of Somalia’s conflict landscape. Communities create or join such groups to respond to conditions of insecurity and vulnerability. Somali powerbrokers, sub-federal authorities, the national government, and external interveners also turn to armed groups as a tool for pursuing their own interests. Some observers argue the militias offset the weakness of Somalia’s official security forces, produce greater motivation and better intelligence, and enhance bonds with local communities, perhaps even suppressing crime and intra-clan violence. But as I detail in a new United Nations University report —…

The G-20’s action is an important first step that must be complemented, scaled up, and broadened By Special Correspondent African countries, like others globally, are contending with an unprecedented shock, which merits substantial and unconditional financial assistance in the spirit of Draghi’s “whatever it takes.” The region is already facing an unprecedented synchronised and deep crisis. At all levels—health, economic, social—institutions are already overstretched. Africa was almost at a sudden stop economically even before the full brunt of COVID-19 reaches its shores. Economic performance for this year is projected to be the worst in 30 years. The health crisis is…

By ANTONY MUTUNGA With COVID-19 still causing havoc around the world, especially increasing in Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is set to face the worst recession it has in the last ten years. According to the World Bank through its Africa Pulse publication, the growth of Sub-Sahara Africa is projected to turn to the negative and range between -2.1 percent and -5.1 percent as compared to 2.4 in 2019. The report states that the COVID-19 outbreak will have more negative impacts for SSA in 2020 as it is set to cost the region between Sh3.96 trillion ($37 billion) and Sh8.45 trillion…

Chief Justice David Maraga has ruled out the resumption of open court sessions until after the coronavirus pandemic. The courts were to be re-opened after the Easter festivities but Maraga says that allowing open court sessions would provide grounds for the spread of the virus that has so far infected 281 people and killed 14. “Sitting court sessions attract people from all walks of life and involve the extensive exchange of papers from one advocate, judicial officer to another thus accelerating the risk of spreading the virus which has now spread to other counties,” Maraga told a news conference. He…