Author: Bobby Mkangi
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Pen on in eternal power!
Although I never got to meet Rasna Warah in person, I feel like I knew her very well. This is because of her open, forthright, and provocative style of writing. I met her through her words, sentences, paragraphs, articles, tweets, and books, through which she effectively weaved and curated her thoughts and emotions. Her oeuvre…
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Should Retired Presidents Be Barred From Politics?
“I need to retire from retirement.” Sandra Day O’Connor A rather intriguing provision in Kenya’s Presidential Retirement Benefits Act 2003 provides that “A retired President shall not hold office in any political party for more than six months after ceasing to hold office as President.” This legislation was enacted in 2003, in order to address…
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Maandamano As Political Mandamus (Misusing On The State Of The People And Their State)
“The revolution Will not be Televised” – Gill Scott Heron Inasmuch as I do not exactly consider myself a logophile, words and word play have always intrigued me. Perhaps that is where my love for poetry, rhyme, and real-HipHop, early 90s especially, comes from. I enjoy it especially when words from different languages with similar…
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You Can Meet But Not Touch! On The LGBTQ+ Community’s Freedom Of Association
Expectedly, a huge debate emerged from one of the latest decisions from the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCoK). On the 24 February 2023, in settling Eric Gitari V NGO Coordination Board & 4 Others, the SCoK, through a majority decision (3:2), upheld the Court of Appeals (CoA) decision that lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and queer…
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Of Nigerian Ogas And The Ogre That Is African Elections
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, one of the most talented and famous sons of Nigeria and Africa, and the founder of the AfroBeat genre of music, sang that democracy is but only a “demonstration of craze.” To him, African countries and for that matter, his beloved Nigeria (that is why he fought so hard for it), were…
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Burying The Corpse That Is Kenya’s Death Penalty
“The state is not God. It has no right to give away that which it cannot give back, if it should so desire.” – Anton Chekhov On 30 January 2023, Ugunja MP and Leader of the Minority in Kenya’s National Assembly (NA) Opiyo Wandayi wrote to the Speaker of the NA, communicating his intention to…
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Are Political Rallies The Only Way?
“It is important to expose yourself to ideas you don’t agree with from time to time. Attend a political rally of a party you do not like.” Fred Green The political rallies season is back! For some, prematurely so. Six months after the last general election and the subsequent swearing-in of President William Ruto, many…
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The Day The Supreme Court Played Marriage Counsellor
“The great marriages are partnerships. It can’t be a great marriage without being a partnership.” – Helen Mirren On 27 January 2023, the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCOK) delivered two judgements with far reaching implications on marriage in Kenya. More precisely, the court’s decisions addressed disputes that arise long after Cupid has left the room,…
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Mischief And Intrigue Behind IEBC Selection Panel
“I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this – who will count the votes and how.” Joseph Stalin On 23 January 2023, President William Ruto performed, for the first time, one of the key constitutional responsibilities of a Kenyan president – assenting bills…
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Kenya At 60, A Reflection
The year 2023 is monumental for the Pan-African movement and Kenya. On 25 May 1963, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by thirty two leaders from the then independent African countries. This was seven months before Kenya’s independence. After accomplishing its main duty which at that time, was liberation…