Islam and Terrorism: The Blurred Boundary Between the Cosmic and this World

Today the barbarity of crimes in the name of religion is all the more disturbing particularly when one considers the righteous religious language in which such heinous acts are cloaked. Violence perpetrated in the name of God continues to engage the world at alarming levels. It is in this regard that this study examines the general relationship between violence and religion in the specific context of Islam from the point of view of the cosmic war theory as advanced by Mark Juergensmeyer. The study observes that violent activities related to Islam are a result of the blurring of boundaries between the symbolic cosmic world of religion and this world, as a result of which the symbolic violence of religion translates into real violence. This translation is occasioned by violent groups in Islam legitimising their violence on the inherent symbolic violence of religions as they respond to ‘unfavourable’ local and global structural conditions.

Traditional Justice System as Alternative Dispute Resolution Under Article 159(2)(C) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010

There are various forms of justice. It cannot be limited to legal justice. This paper explores the potential of traditional justice systems under the Constitution. It illustrates the need for a multidisciplinary approach in order to fully realise the right to access justice. Through a comparative analysis as well as case law, the paper demonstrates how alternative dispute resolution is not limited to civil cases, but can be applied to criminal proceedings. Challenges are pointed out and recommendations made on how to improve and effectively manage traditional justice system

Chinese Foreign Direct Investment and Human Rights in Kenya: A Mutually-Affirming Relationship?

Does the increase in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Kenya portend doom for human rights in the country? The prominent narrative has been that FDI undermines human rights in host states, especially those in the developing world. This narrative is countered by claims that there exists a mutually affirming relationship between FDI and human rights. Proponents of this view posit that FDI facilitates the diffusion of human rights norms and correlates with the improved rule of law in host states. They also point to emerging human rights jurisprudence in international investment arbitration as evidence of a reciprocal relationship between FDI and human rights. In light of these arguments, this paper analyses the extent to which such a reciprocal relationship bears out between Chinese FDI and human rights in Kenya. It will be demonstrated that given the lack of a framework for human rights accountability for corporations at the international level, the restrictive treatment of human rights in international investment arbitration tribunals and weak institutional capacity in host states, a positive overlap between FDI and human rights is hardly a panacea for human rights protection in Kenya. Therefore, a synergy of legal measures and non-legal measures provide a pragmatic approach to insulate human rights from violations that may be associated with Chinese FDIs.

Regulating Terrorism Before the Act of Terror: A comparative study

In light of the growing risks that terrorism presents to civilised society, Western governments have adopted a broad range of laws and administrative regulations designed to thwart terrorists before they can commit acts of terror. Beyond mere conspiracy or attempt, these laws have sought to proscribe activity that exists as a stand-alone offence but that acts as a proxy for the sorts of offences that constitute true terror activity. This article serves to examine these various approaches. It groups these approaches into four categories: prohibitions on membership in terror organisations; intangible support to terror organisations; restrictions on travel to areas that have terror groups operating openly; and money laundering and other financial crimes tied to the financing of terror organisations. It then identifies a single example within each group to use as a case study to explore the contours of the specific approach, while tying the example to larger trends within Western countries’ legal systems. Finally, this article considers the implications for countries considering adopting one or more of these approaches, including the ways that multiple approaches can work in tandem. The article does not make specific recommendations, but rather recognises that each country’s government must consider the benefits and costs of adopting these approaches carefully and with an eye to both its security and its society.

Developing Jurisprudence or Creating Chaos?

All knowledge is value-laden, influenced by the multifarious inarticulate major premises deriving from our inescapable ideological baggage. However, on occasions such as this, it behooves all people of good sense and logic to endeavour to be objective in their views. Occasions such as these, call upon us to question our own assumptions. We are required to turn our version of logic upside down, inside out, in a critical and evaluative sense. The purpose of all these is to establish a broad spectrum of objectivity that informs the ideas being presented. Part of my observations and verdicts in the analytical aspects of the paper have been rather unflattering—perhaps harsh. That is what we do in the academy. But I guess, they are only but that part of the labour pains we have submitted ourselves to in the birth of a new jurisprudential trajectory for the CoA—a coherent and predictable jurisprudence.

Copyright in Digital Television Broadcasting in Kenya: An Analysis of the Royal Media Services Case

Kenyan superior courts missed an opportunity to discuss and authoritatively settle the law on the nature of copyright in broadcasts and the effect of the must carry rule in digital broadcasting through their decisions in the Royal Media Services case. The Supreme Court, in arriving at its decision, failed to be guided by Kenyan law on copyright in broadcasts and the must carry rule in three key areas. First, the Supreme Court relied on the Philippines’ decision on the definition of a broadcasting organisation without considering the provisions of the Copyright Act (Chapter 130) and the Kenya Information and Communication Act (Chapter 411). Second, the Supreme Court relied on the doctrine of fair use as envisaged in the Philippines copyright regime, yet Section 26 of the Kenyan Copyright Act provides for fair dealing. Third, the Supreme Court relied on the public interest defence without discussing its basis and establishing its parameters, especially since public interest is not provided for in Copyright Act. The Supreme Court erred in determining that rebroadcasting of local broadcasts by subscription television licencees was not an infringement of copyright in broadcast.

Commonification of Food as an Approach for the Achievement of Food Security

The commodification of food is one of the many causes of food insecurity as it occasions the inability of poor households to access the available food because of high prices and dysfunctional markets. A change of approach from commodification to commonification to deal with food insecurity at the national, regional and global level is the way to go. As commodification of food is a social construct adopted as a result of deliberate societal policy-making, commonification can similarly be adopted through legal and institutional design at the local, national and international levels; creating polycentric systems for the management of food-producing resources for the local communities. With commonification, decisions relating to the use of local resources for the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food are made at the local level, to ensure that other socioeconomic and cultural aspects of food are considered in the decision-making processes. The integrated aspects of the right to food and food democracy are critical components of the commonification approach to food security.

Unpacking the African Backlash to the International Criminal Court (ICC): The Case of Uganda and Kenya

From early bright beginnings and close cooperation, African relations with the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) have recently witnessed a sharp deterioration. The explanations for this fall-out vary from the personal style of the first Prosecutor of the Court—Luis Moreno Ocampo—to the lack of a comprehensive appreciation of the reasons for which the institution was established in the first instance. This article specifically zeroes in on the troubled interactions between the Court and the governments of Uganda and Kenya. These two instances demonstrate that while the charge of anti-African bias has become the dominant discourse of contemporary scholarship on the issue, structural and systemic factors are not given enough attention. Particular attention is given to the way the cases of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and President Uhuru Kenyatta (from Uganda and Kenya respectively) found their way to the ICC and the subsequent developments relating thereto. In doing so, the article explores, among other factors, the way International Criminal Justice was politicised, and its links to enduring questions of global political and economic inequality. Such conditions of inequality find manifestation in the backlash by African countries towards what has been described as the ICC’s selective approach. At the same time, opportunism and double-standards abound on all sides as there is both an inconsistent and hypocritical embrace of the basic tenets of International Criminal Law and Justice. Ultimately, the victims of human rights violations are short-changed while those actors who really need to be brought to account remain beyond sanction.

Enhanced Rights for Detained Persons

The incorporation of habeas corpus and bail in the Cameroonian Criminal Procedure Code has not only entrenched them in law, but has also widened and deepened their scope, with a view to obtaining, as far as possible, the respect for human rights and the rule of law in order to ensure a more functional criminal justice system in Cameroon. The incorporation of habeas corpus and bail in the Cameroon criminal trial process will restrain the arbitrary and illegal use of the powers of the judicial police officers and ensure respect of human rights. Although there are some challenges in the application of habeas corpus and bail such as misuse of the remedies by some overzealous authorities, defiance of court orders in the enforcement of the writ of habeas corpus by administrative authorities, and erosion of confidence in the Judiciary, there is optimism in the conscious efforts being made to ensure that habeas corpus and bail are properly applied so that the Cameroonian Criminal Procedure Code attains its full potential.