By Shadrack Muyesu Often unsaid about Marbury v Madison is that the Supreme Court did not demonstrate judicial independence in an order but only asserted it in dicta. Apart from brief, sporadic spells of renaissance, courts have, since then, followed this trend. They rarely stand up to the Executive. Its perhaps time we asked ourselves, is Marbury the powerful authority (on judicial independence) it is made out to be? More importantly, considering the obvious conflict between legal text and historical reality, will the Judiciary ever be an equal partner in government? The Judiciary is a weak species. In the words…
Author: NLM Editor
By Cytonn Investments Over the last few years, Kenya’s rising public debt has been a point of discussion in most macroeconomic outlook discussions, with organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global credit rating agencies (Moody’s Credit Rating Agency, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), among others, raising concerns. Most recently, on February 14, Moody’s downgraded the government’s issuer rating to “B2” from “B1” previously, based on the observation that as the country’s financing needs continue to grow and the government turns to external commercial loans to fund the deficit,…
This month, the Embassy of Japan hosts a workshop to review the implementation of the commitments made during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad) VI Summit in Nairobi in August 2016. But it is clear that after the summit, Japan is powerfully pivoting towards Africa. In February, the Japanese auto dealer, AA Japan, opened new offices in Nairobi to tap into the growing market for used cars in East Africa. In Kenya alone, the company’s sales have expanded by 38 per cent in the past two years from about 3,000 units in 2015 to 4,800 units in 2017.…
COMPARISONS with dark chapters in Jewish history tend to elicit the kneejerk Israeli response of asur le’hashvot, the Hebrew for “you can’t compare”. But a government plan to deport more than 34,000 African migrants to Rwanda is provoking more hand-wringing than usual, not least because Israel itself was created by refugees and survivors of the Holocaust. The government has proposed a plan to offer financial incentives including the payment of $3,500 (Sh350,000) to African migrants who agree to leave Israel “voluntarily” and go to Rwanda or Uganda. It said that those who do not agree to leave may be expelled…
AFRICA has been invaded on quiet wings. First they landed by ship in the west. Then they spread across the continent, wreaking havoc as they went. Now, two years later, the invaders are worrying officials in almost every sub-Saharan country. It’s not the French, British or even the Chinese. This time it’s a simple American moth, the voracious fall armyworm, which has marched through Africa’s fields and is threatening to cause a food crisis. When just a hungry caterpillar, the fall armyworm will happily munch on more than 80 plant species. But its favourite is maize—the staple for more than…
The two men were political allies. But they had a falling out over the direction of newly independent Kenya — especially over land and power — and became bitter adversaries. Now their sons are fighting a modern adaptation of the same battle as they vie to lead the country, pushing one of Africa’s youngest and most vibrant democracies to the brink of a constitutional crisis. “History is not exactly repeating itself,” says Maina Kiai, a human rights lawyer in Kenya, describing the eerie political parallels between past and present, “but it certainly is rhyming.” Politically, Kenya is deeply — and…
By Peter Mukora I would like to offer a rebuttal to Kenyatta Otieno’s article in the January issue, titled A Luo problem, or a problem with the Luo? I am a proud Kenyan who has worked hard for everything I have and own. I have many friends, from across the many tribes of Kenya, some known from high school in Kanunga, Kiambu – a school whose head back then was a Luo man from Homa Bay, for whom we demonstrated when the ministry of education attempted to transfer him from Kiambu to Baringo. Broderick Ogange was loved by all students and feared in…
By Kenyatta Otieno Public universities have begun implementing the Universities Act 2016 which amended some clauses to the original Act of 2012. The 2012 Act was enacted by parliament to align our institutions of higher learning to the realities of the 2010 Constitution. The bone of contention is the sneaking into the Act clauses on how student unions should hold their elections and run office. I want to draw on my experience as a student leader in my day, to explain current realities. In 2000 when I was suspended from the University of Nairobi as part of SONU executive Committee,…
Weah, Drogba to partner with Macron in football initiative Liberia’s president, ex-football star, George Weah, joined fellow African football great Didier Drogba and emerging French youngster Kylian Mbappe in Paris to launch a platform that will support sport in Africa. Hosted by French president, Emmanuel Macron, the three great strikers committed themselves to supporting the French initiative. Sport can be “a strong and dynamic vector for Africa”, stressed the French Head of State at the end of a luncheon which also brought together the presidents of the French Football Federation (FFF) Noël Le Graët and the Fifa Gianni Infantino. Macron…
The International Monetary Fund has warned that Kenya debt is approaching the unsustainable levels following the rate at which new loans are being contracted. Jan Mikkelsen, the resident representative to Kenya said IMF is concerned about high fiscal deficit. “This is not good to sustain the economy. It will force the government to finance its deficit through commercial borrowing hence squeezing out lending to private sector,” said Mikkelsen. Private sector He told the Budget and Appropriations Committee that reducing the budget deficit will allow more resources to go to private sector since the government will demand less in borrowing from…