Dead at 80: Annan, McCain exit world stage Two giants, a consummate diplomat and a brave political maverick, have left the world stage. Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and Arizona senator John McCain have had illustrious careers in diplomacy and politics. Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, died on August 18 in Switzerland. The 80-year-old global diplomat who brokered the 2008 Kenyan peace deal had retired to Geneva and later lived in a Swiss village. Senator McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam who ran unsuccessfully for president as a self-styled maverick Republican in 2008…
Author: NLM Editor
Ranked among the top world economists, Dr David Mwangi Ndii holds a PHD, doctorate and master’s degrees in Economics from the Oxford University, as well as a masters and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Nairobi. He is also a Rhodes Scholar and Eisenhower fellow, who co-founded the Institute of Economic Affairs, Kenya’s first independent policy think-tank. HIGHLIGHT: Distinguished economist, stalwart of good governance, public intellectual IGNOMINY: Former Nyayo House torture chambers at the height of multi-party agitation The economist has distinguished himself with being a vocal critic of corruption, misrule and extrajudicial killings. In his own words, he does…
The contaminated sugar impounded and boarded in various go-downs by the multiagency taskforce on illicit trade in Mombasa, Webuye, Nakuru and Nairobi was last month being released in haste. Our informer says that this was on instructions from people in high office, in a rush to allow the Rai Family to sell its consignments ahead of Parliament’s report debate, to pre-empt the people-friendly proposal on destruction as recommended. The high stakes gamble was meant to forestall huge losses in a business deal that involved money owed to Commercial Bank of Africa in guarantees for import letters of credit for the…
By Kennedy Lumwamu Construction of the Sh4.1 billion Eldoret bypass may not take off immediately after people whose land is meant to be compulsorily acquired instructed their lawyer to have payment stopped until various “pressing” issues are addressed. The bypass, which stretches from Cheplaskei to Maili Tisa on the Nakuru-Webuye Road has been funded by the African Development Bank. The Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) says already the government has released Sh300million to compensate those affected. But at a meeting held at the Uasin Gishu County government offices on August 22, the landowners instructed their lawyer, Zephaniah Yego, to write…
By Kennedy Lumwamu An MCA has accused Governor Jackson Mandago of discriminating against non-Kalenjin, charging that development projects are deliberately being bent to disadvantage areas represented by members of the county assembly who are not locals of Uasin Gishu County. The leader of minority at the county assembly Ramadhan Ali, who is also the Kiplombe Ward MCA, says that in Eldoret, although county assembly committees deliberate on and approve budgets for various projects, when it came to implementation the technical staff deliberately by-pass areas where the MCAs are not from the majority tribe. In the county, Francis Muya, who is the…
BY TNLM Writer The Judiciary is committed to ensuring that all the anti-corruption and Economic Crimes cases brought before courts are dealt with impartially, expeditiously and in accordance with the law and the evidence presented, Chief Justice David Maraga asserts. Observing that this is the only way Judiciary can maintain the confidence of the people it serves, Maraga urged judges to be professional when handling cases and urged other actors in the justice chain to be equally diligent and professional in their work. “We are meeting at a time when the fight against corruption has gathered momentum and the Judiciary is…
By Prof John Harbeson The two countries in sub-Saharan Africa whose trajectories I have most closely followed throughout my professional life, Kenya and Ethiopia, could become pace-setters in the fundamental and profoundly important task of reconstructing their states. Under the leadership of new prime minister Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia is preparing the groundwork for the formation of a truly post-imperial state after failed and corrupted, authoritarian initiatives by the military regime from 1973-1991, and the current Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Republic Front (EPRDF) from then to the present. And I am intrigued by the idea afloat in Kenya of conducting lifestyle…
By Ahmednasir Abdullahi, SC The thing with Kenya’s kind of graft is that it has permeated virtually every facet of our lives. It has, in fact, assumed the status of an institution, which is why how we proceed with the war on graft is a vital determinant to the final outcome; the race to reclaim the country’s pilfered resources and public integrity is not something to be approached as though it were a checkers game. Through observing goings-on in the past month, I would like to suggest a few strategies for His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Deputy and their…
By Professor John Harbeson At a time when European countries as well as the United States are deeply concerned about the sanctity of their borders from those seeking refugee from other war-torn or natural disaster-afflicted countries, it is timely also to consider the scale of internal displacement of citizens in their own countries. The Norway based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) has done important and difficult work for many years in tracking the extent of internal displacement, country by country, particularly since many of those internally displacement come seeking refuge and resettlement in wealthier, stronger countries to the north. Internal…
The conversation around millennials is old news, right? We’ve heard everything we need to know about the work ethic of this oftentimes perplexing generation, their obsession with technology and seeming inability to form real relationships or stick to one job. When Gen Z are coming—due to account for 40% of global consumers by 2020—a new cohort of humans require our attention. These kids are more financially savvy, highly entrepreneurial and true digital natives, putting the generation that preceded them to shame in their ability to disrupt industries. That, and provide fodder for a whole new debate on the employability and purchasing…