10 min read. In this three-part series, WACHIRA MAINA explains how “state capture elites” have undermined anti-corruption efforts and why, despite decades of reforms and numerous commissions of inquiry, corruption remains an enduring element of Kenyan politics and society.
11 min read. Large China-funded infrastructure projects in Kenya have led to an influx of Chinese male migrants, who have not just changed the landscape of the country, but who have also found love – and had children – in the most unlikely places. DAUTI KAHURA reports on the “Chikuyu” phenomenon.
10 min read. Constitutional amendments have preceded every Kenyan election since 1992. But have these amendments brought about real change or are they merely tools that are used to entrench the status quo? DAUTI KAHURA finds out.
10 min read. Proposals by politicians and church leaders to amend the 2010 Constitution serve narrow interests and could lead to further polarisation and exclusion in the country, argues CANON FRANCIS OMONDI.
8 min read. Did President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Jubilee party win the 2013 and 2017 elections fairly, or did a dubious UK-based consultancy company help them win by using unethical means? RASNA WARAH explores possible reasons why the Kenyan media has remained mum about Cambridge Analytica despite the international uproar about its use of dirty tactics.
20 min read. Cases of extrajudicial killings by police and other state security agents are commonplace in Kenya, where such murders often do not lead to prosecution or justice for the victims. ISAAC OTIDI AMUKE revisits the case of two prominent human rights defenders who were killed in 2009 in broad daylight on a Nairobi street.
9 min read. ANGUS ELSBY debunks myths around value-addition and fair trade and explains how European multinationals monopolised the coffee industry at the expense of African coffee producing countries.
12 min read. Unfulfilled expectations and the prospect of a Ruto presidency in 2022 have increased levels of despondency and confusion in Central Kenya. DAUTI KAHURA gauges the political mood in President Kenyatta’s stronghold.
14 min read. The campaign to stop the construction of a coal-fired plant in Lamu encountered many hurdles. PRIYANKA DESOUZA and ALEXANDER IKAWAH document the various challenges facing the campaign and how they were successfully overcome.
11 min read. TINASHE L. CHIMEDZA explains why the November 2017 military coup in Zimbabwe and the ouster of Robert Mugabe failed to deliver democracy and sound financial management to a country that has yet to overcome the debilitating effects of authoritarianism and hyperinflation.
