The African Trumpet

Kenya’s agro-economy accounts for about 24 per cent of GDP and 74% of jobs (GoK, 2008). On 4th March 2013, the central government transferred much of the at least 10 separate sub-sectors to county governments. These are crops (both industrial and food), horticulture, livestock, fisheries, land, water, cooperatives and marketing, environment and natural resources, regional development, and developm...

Its government is virtual, borderless, blockchained, and secure. An early, sustained and deliberate adoption of digital tools to provide government services to its citizens. Has this tiny post-Soviet nation found the way of the future? The Elephant in conversation with Kadri Humal Ayal, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Kenya.

In this conversation, we talk about tax justice and the 15% minimum corporate tax proposal by the G7. What is it about, why is it important for Africa and what can we do? Crystal Simeoni, Director at NAWI, in conversation with Chenai Mukumba, Policy Research and Advocacy Manager at the Tax Justice Network Africa.

The Northern Rangelands Trust has been active in the pastoralist region, setting up "Community Wildlife." Some have argued that these conservancies are a trojan horse for taking away pastoralist land. With the coming into force of the Community Land Act 2016, securing pastoralist land has become even more urgent. The Elephant in conversation with Adam Dalacha, a lawyer and human rights activist.

Socially, the pastoralists are patriarchally organized; men take most of the powers, and women are to be seen and not heard. That combined with the climatic shocks, where women are disproportionately affected, has made them incredibly vulnerable. However, economic empowerment through programs like Ushanga - an endeavour that was mostly undertaken by women, is improving their lot. The Elephant in c...

The Community Land Act, No. 27 of 2016 (the Act) came into force on 21 September 2016. The Act gives effect to Article 63 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 (The Constitution) which provides for the classification of land known as community land. While the law is progressive on paper- it enables local communities to register and own their communal lands legally, its application has been slow. The...

Pre-independence, Kenya's Northern Frontier Districts fought to be part of Somalia during Shifta War or Gaf Daba (1963–1967). The post-1963 Kenya war against the "Shifta," securitized the relationship between the state, the region, and the people. Since then a series of massacres- the Wagala (1984), Bagala (1998), and Malka Mari (1982), and the advent of the war on terror saw the rise of the label...

Increasingly, elders in the north play a critical role in determining who gets elected for political offices, especially county offices. However, how do traditional/cultural institutions interact with the new formal political institutions? The relationship between these institutions is not always unidirectional, but they mutually influence each other. Do women have a role since most of the elders...

The Constitution of Kenya, in Article 53 (1) (b) states that every child has a right to free and compulsory basic education, yet since Kenya’s independence, the arid north has continued to exhibit extensively lower access, participation, completion, and achievement rates thanks to insecurity. The Elephant in conversation with Fatuma Ali Saman, a Kenyan educationist and women's rights campaigner.

The young people are central to how the current election will shape up. Their contribution as voters, aspirants, citizens, policymakers and experts makes them a central cog in our electoral machinery. But how has the current crop of leaders approached the youth issue, especially the urban youth voter? The Elephant talks to youth mobilizer, Mr Rasat.

In this episode, we quantify through numbers, narratives, and anecdotes what was lost, how it was lost and where they are or could be located. We talk about the museums, private collections, secret vaults, altered stories, and canaries.

Do farmers owe the nation food or do they owe themselves a profit? Should youths join the farming craze? Our country is primarily agricultural as it contributes about 26 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), another 27 per cent of GDP indirectly through linkages with other sectors and value addition. The sector employs more than 40 percent of Kenya’s 30 million adults and more than 70...

The contest between traditional seeds and IP patented industrially produced seeds runs apace. Seed savers Kenya believes their seed preservation techniques are great and ought to be preserved. Meanwhile, the industry seems to try and edge them out. That contest pits farmers against industrialists has immediate effects on consumers, farmers, seeds outlets and agro-inputs sellers across the country.

Around a third of Kenyans live in the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions (ASAL), which is 80 % of Kenya's landmass. The region temperatures have risen 0.34 degrees C (.6 F) per decade since 1985, which is fueling more severe cycles of drought. The drought cycle has been reduced from ten years to five years, with increasing intensity and frequency of drought. How are the counties dealing with these sets of...

Devolution, access occasioned by new highways, a rise of local elites, has created a boon for sub-counties and towns within the counties in the North. The growth of LAPPSET is promising to more than triple the transport and communication infrastructure. And even though the northern counties are still reeling from decades of exclusion, a new hope emerges as modernization gradually takes root.

Elections in some ways have been great drivers of conflict and tools of authoritarianism but they also bring about positive incremental change and provide some form of accountability. Our moderator Patrick Gathara, and discussants Rashid Abdi, Justin Willis and Samira Gaid reflect on the progress made in democratizing the East African region and what needs to be done to secure long-term gains. A p...

Elections in some ways have been great drivers of conflict and tools of authoritarianism but they also bring about positive incremental change and provide some form of accountability. Our moderator Patrick Gathara, and discussants Rashid Abdi, Justin Willis and Samira Gaid reflect on the progress made in democratizing the East African region and what needs to be done to secure long-term gains. A p...

Elections in some ways have been great drivers of conflict and tools of authoritarianism but they also bring about positive incremental change and provide some form of accountability. Our moderator Patrick Gathara, and discussants Rashid Abdi, Justin Willis and Samira Gaid reflect on the progress made in democratizing the East African region and what needs to be done to secure long-term gains. A p...

Elections in some ways have been great drivers of conflict and tools of authoritarianism but they also bring about positive incremental change and provide some form of accountability. Our moderator Patrick Gathara, and discussants Rashid Abdi, Justin Willis and Samira Gaid reflect on the progress made in democratizing the East African region and what needs to be done to secure long-term gains. A p...

Every day, hundreds of millions of people go to bed hungry. Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Two billion are overweight or obese. Yet 462 million are underweight. Nearly a third of all food that is produced, is lost or wasted. How does a world of so much plenty struggle to feed so many of its inhabitants? The Elephant talks to Greenpeace Africa's Claire Nasike.

How are the respective players preparing for the upcoming elections? What role have they played in the past and how is that likely to change or evolve in the coming months? What will shape voter decision making and how does that feed the need for civic education? The Elephant speaks to the founder of Accountability Demand Net (ADN), Cyprian Nyamwamu.

Between COVID-19 and resultant issues, an approaching debt cliff, a new crop of young voters and a wobbly economy, Kenyans seem to have a clear set of the issues that will define the upcoming elections. How will Kenyans go about ranking their respective pressing issues and how will that shape the upcoming elections? The Elephant in conversation with Cyprian Nyamwamu.

As the current debates about the Competency-Based Curriculum rage on, Dr Wandia Njoya and Elephant Curator John Githongo walk down the memory lane of Kenya's education system since the pre-colonial days to the present.

A community is only as honest as the stories it tells itself. Who are we? What makes us a country or nation? How did we arrive at our stories? How does what we tell ourselves about our origin, and self-existence say about us? The Elephant joins Dr Wandia, Mshai Mwangola, Ngala Chome and Oyunga Pala to elucidate on how we arrived at the stories we tell ourselves as a community and a nation.

Successive issues around land, reparations, colonial violence, and policing structures throughout Kenya's life span have created a leash on the capacity of the Kenya public to imagine and build forward. How do we set free the soul of the Kenyan people? The Elephant joins Dr Wandia, Mshai Mwangola, Ngala Chome and Oyunga Pala to elucidate on how best to fix ourselves as a community.