ISSN: 2521-2621
Affiliations: Senior Legal Advisor at the International Commission of Jurists
Source: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law, 2019, p. 135 – 142
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ISSN: 2521-2621
Affiliations: None
Source: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law, 2019, p. 143 – 161
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ISSN: 2521-5434
Affiliations: PhD Candidate, University of Nairobi, School of Law; Associate Professor of Law, University of Nairobi; Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Nairobi
Source: Africa Journal of Comparative Constitutional Law, 2019, p. 1 – 24
The 2010 Constitution introduced mandatory gender quotas for elective public bodies in Kenya through the provisions of articles 27(8) and 81(b). However, there exist no constitutional mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of these quotas and this lacuna has contributed to an on-going constitutional impasse since 2013 when the First Parliament under this Constitution was elected into office. This article undertakes a retrospective interrogation of the state of women’s political representation in Kenyan politics leading up to the introduction of constitutional gender quotas with the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution. It further analyses the influence of electoral systems on women’s representation in Parliament vis-à-vis the implementation of gender quotas to increase their participation and representation in politics. It argues for changes in the Kenyan electoral system to facilitate the successful implementation of the constitutional gender quotas provided for under articles 27(8) and 81(b) of the Constitution.
ISSN: 2521-5434
Affiliations: Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, and PhD Candidate, University of Cape Town, South Africa. LLM (Fordham University), BL (Ghana), LLB (KNUST)
Source: Africa Journal of Comparative Constitutional Law, 2019, p. 25 – 54
With just a day to the end of his tenure in 2009, President Kufuor approved the single spine salary scheme, which increased public and civil sector salaries. After the 2016 elections, the outgoing President Mahama embarked on a spree of midnight actions—increasing salaries of national service personnel, making multiple appointments and recruitments, cutting sods for projects and signing a number of contracts. The exponential rise in midnight actions in a space of two inter-party transitional periods is alarming and requires urgent legislative response. The Presidential (Transition) Act (PTA) of 2012, which was enacted to enhance smooth presidential transitions, did not anticipate the increasing midnight actions. Accordingly, this article recommends that the PTA should be amended to address midnight actions in Ghana. The article reviews the responses to midnight actions in the United States and Australia and makes recommendations for Ghana’s legislative response based on the findings made. The article also considers the nature, practice and regulation of pre-election midnight actions and its place within Ghana’s transition framework. The article recommends that the proposed amendments to the PTA should also cover pre-election midnight actions.
ISSN: 2521-5434
Affiliations: Professor and Dean, Daystar University School of Law, Kenya
Source: Africa Journal of Comparative Constitutional Law, 2019, p. 55 – 76
The Constitution of Kenya, 2010, stipulates that sovereignty lies with the people. This sovereignty can be exercised directly by the people through voting at periodic elections and referenda and indirectly through elected representatives, among others. Presidential elections in Kenya— as elsewhere in Africa—are usually hotly contested. Irregularities and illegalities are bound to occur. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 codified some rights, including those of the voter and the manner of conducting elections. The adjudication of presidential petitions was vested in the Supreme Court. Relevant enabling legislation and regulations have also been formulated. The Supreme Court has applied both the quantitative and qualitative tests in determining election petitions at different times. In the Presidential Election Petition of 2013, some of the issues canvassed revolved around whether there was a valid voters’ register and whether there were irregularities and if the illegalities observed were of a high enough threshold to affect the integrity of the election. The Supreme Court, applying the quantitative test determined that the election results would stand. However, in the 2017 Presidential Election Petition, the court, applying the qualitative test, deviated from its 2013 decision and nullified that election. The question that this article interrogates is whether the Supreme Court acted with constitutional fidelity in both these decisions. This article analyses the jurisprudence from the 2013 and 2017 decisions of the Supreme Court.