By James Osiema Opiyo The ascendancy of Kenya to become a regional economic powerhouse can be linked back to the administration of the late President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s third president. The Kenyan economic renaissance began in the early 2003 and lasted for about 10 years albeit with some turbulence and headwinds that slowed down the velocity of progress. Some of Kibaki’s key accomplishments included the launch of Kenya Vision 2030, free primary education, promulgation of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and creation of conducive environment for free market competition. Free market competition, for example, provided an environment where banks were free to…
Author: Guest Writer
By Gilbert Muyumbu Members of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) are expected to elect new leadership for the organisation in February 2024, when the tenure of current LSK president, Eric Theuri comes to an end. The organisation is an important player in the rule of law terrain in Kenya. But the terrain faces two consistent realities. On the one hand, the executive arm of government is always a reluctant adherent to the rule of law. If the rule of law was a hospital and the executive arm a patient, the executive would have to always be dragged to the…
Dr Dina N Krigha Writing in the forward to the book “A Lawyer for our times”, recently retired Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga wrote the following about Dr Fackson W. Kagwe: “…it is a meticulously researched account, a compelling story of a fascinating take-charge professional and his equally stirring times.” This biography reminds me of the “Happy Lawyer”, a book by the writing team of Nancy Levit and Doug Linder, law professors at the University of Missouri, who tackled the crucially important subject of “how to have a happy life in law”. After interviewing more than two hundred lawyers about…
I recently spent a week with students and faculty at the University of Nairobi and was blown away by their energy, ideas, and enthusiasm. The generation now reaching adulthood is the best educated to date and as a result, demand for university studies is exploding. But Kenyan universities are struggling to meet this surge in demand. I understand the same is true in many African countries. The root of the problem is a finance gap. Universities all over the world struggle to raise money, but the problem is particularly pressing in Africa, with its hunger for education and the urgent…
Renowned playwright and film maker Mbongeni Ngema was given a hero’s send-off during a State funeral in his home town of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa, on January 5 BY ABBEY MAKOE Mbogeni Ngema, the film producer who put South Africa and Africa on the artistic international map, will be remembered for his seminal movie, Sarafina, if not for its stage prequel by the same title. Ngema’s music and iconic productions have dominated social media and mainstream news across SA and beyond. He died suddenly in a car accident on December 27, 2023 and was buried on January 5, 2024.…
By Carmel Rickard A prominent Kenyan lawyer has been ordered personally to pay Kshs10 million to the country’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). In a decision handed down in November, High Court Judge Esther Maina said Joseph Owino Kojwando had acted to conceal the source of funds and that he was not entitled to keep any part of the money as ‘instruction fees’, since this would unjustly benefit him. The case dealt with land acquired by the then city council of Nairobi to use as a cemetery, in a deal that has since been held by several high court judges…
As the UNHCR marked another year in November of working towards a world where every person has a nationality and all the rights that go along with it, important results have been reported during 2023 so far. Here we take a look at three of the top achievements in Africa, as listed by the UN’s refugee agency. The agency is behind a 10 year programme, aimed at ending statelessness in every part of the world. Many might be puzzled about how statelessness can happen. What is it that causes individuals and groups to have no identification, no documentation, no proof…
By Kenyatta Otieno The 2022 elections had two outcomes that have informed this article. One is an assumed ideological base for the first time in Kenyan elections and the fact that younger people either kept away from the ballot or did not vote along tribal lines. The ‘Hustlers-Dynasty’ narrative is like the British Labour versus Conservative political ideology. William Ruto and UDA campaigned on a platform of an ordinary man against Raila of Azimio, the child of Kenya’s first Vice President, supported by the son of Kenya’s first President. If you look again, you realise that Raila is more hustler…
By NLM Writer At a gathering of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya in October in Bondo, Siaya County, his home and political base, Opposition chief described Raila Odinga described his lieutenant and Ukambani kingpin Kalonzo Musyoka as a trustworthy leader. Although Raila later sought to downplay the significance of his words – perhaps to indicate that the idea of Azimio’s next presidential candidate is not his sole prerogative – there are several reasons why this is a big deal. Raila has spent most of his adult life a politician, garnering countrywide support often bordering on the fanatical. In recent times,…
Jaramogi aligned himself with Russia and China, prompting the West to push for his isolation to keep him from succeeding Kenyatta. This is what turned Jaramogi and his supporters into outsiders and what also keeps Raila from ‘winning’. By Kenyatta Otieno Success has many fathers, which makes failure an orphan. I have listened to and read many posts by people blaming Raila Odinga for his inability to clinch the presidency in his five attempts. It would be simplistic of me to blame Raila for losing elections. My only axe for him is that he did not realise in good time,…