Intrastate Conflicts Influencing Human Rights Enforcement with Specific Reference to the Republic of Sudan, 1956 – 2011

The objective of this paper was to Asses strategies for managing intrastate conflicts and mitigating human rights violation in the Republic of Sudan. The study design adopted was descriptive research that incorporated both, document analysis, quantitative and qualitative techniques. The findings showed that ahigh proportion (77%) of the respondents rated CPA’s contribution as a peace initiative to Republic of Sudan’s internal conflicts as average and above. The findings further revealed that the CPA’s contribution towards Republic of Sudan’s internal conflict had a significant effect on human right enforcement in Republic of Sudan. CPA and Referendum are the most popular peace initiatives in Republic of Sudan that has led to reduction of internal conflicts in Sudan.  According to the findings of this study. Not all peace initiatives were successfully in contributing significantly positive to resolving conflicts in the republic of Sudan. Initiatives such as ACPP and referendum did not significantly contribute to resolving conflicts according to the findings. The findings further revealed that strategies that were used to manage internal conflicts in Republic of Sudan were not successfull to some extent. More than half (61.7%) of respondents perceived that the strategies did less in uniting people of Southern Sudan. This is indicated by the current situation in South Sudan even after the secession; the intrastate conflicts have continued in South Sudan over resources and political interests. However, most strategies had positive influence on human rights enforcement in Republic of Sudan.   However, there were many (61.3%) respondents who agreed that the strategies speeded the secession of Republic of Sudan and contributed to peace in Republic of Sudan. On the other hand the results showed that these strategies were significant towards human rights enforcement in Republic of Sudan through; preventing further conflicts in Republic of Sudan, leading to stability in Republic of Sudan, making Republic of Sudan be accepted by international community, positively influenced North, South Sudan relationships, reduced intrastate conflicts in Republic of Sudan, contributed to peace in Republic of Sudan among others. However, the strategies at the time were far from reaching a satisfactorily level. The study concluded that the strategies that were in place did not work out well to a sustainable course.  The need for cooperative engagement comes from the conviction that no single association or entity that has the capacity of managing intrastate conflicts by itself. The study recommended that there is need for sober approaches to getting lasting solutions that could see conflicts reduction in Republic of Sudan. As per the findings an incredible need to deal with the root causes of conflicts and find the amicable solutions after the war is inevitable. Keywords: Armed Conflict, Civil War, Intrastate Conflicts, Human Rights Enforcemen

Phylogenetic relationship among Kenyan sorghum germplasms based on aluminium tolerance

Eighty nine (89) sorghum lines sourced from various parts of Kenya were used to determine phylogenetic relationships based on 10 DNA fragments at AltSB loci with SbMATE, ORF9 and MITE primers. Nine lines of varying aluminium tolerance levels were selected to compare their SbMATE gene expression via the real-time PCR quantification of SbMATE gene expression. The sorghum line MSCR O2 expressed a thousandfold more SbMATEgene activity than the sensitive lines (MSCRM49, MSCRN84 and MSCRN61) under Al treatment. Analysis was done by agarose gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide. The objective of this study was to assess the level of phylogenetic relationships among the Kenyan sorghum germplasms at a known Al tolerance locus. Hierarchical cluster analysis joined at 70% simple matching coefficient using average linkage similarity level produced nine groups in which 67 lines fell in three major clusters of 39, 15 and 13 lines each. The three Al tolerant lines MSCRO2, MSCRC1 and MSCRN60 were clustered together. Lines MSCRO2, MSCRC1 and MSCRN60, screened to be Al tolerant were genetically related at 70% average linkage similarity level and therefore recommend their further development as a food security measure in Kenya.Keywords: Aluminium (Al) toxicity, Sorghum bicolor, Sorghum bicolor multi-drug, toxic extrusion compound (SbMATE) gene expressionAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(22), pp. 3528-353

PROSECUTING SOMALIA PIRATES AS TERRORISTS

This article starts from the assumption that piracy resembles terrorism in many aspects and attempts to support it through both a theoretical investigation and practical examples. The argument it makes is that Somali pirates should be prosecuted as terrorists. Moreover, it emphasizes the idea that for Somalia’s neighboring countries and not only the implementation of such an approach consists in resorting to the antiterrorist conventions already in place. Thus, for example, Kenya Navy as a piracyfi ghting agency should rely on these conventions to justify the capture and prosecution of pirates in Kenyan courts. In this respect, we emphasize the idea that only by resorting to an established international legal framework can Kenya identify the tools to counter pirates’ actions within legal limits. Moreover, this should be paralleled by efforts towards rebuilding Somalia and its institutions if long-term solutions are to be envisaged in the eradication of piracy in the Indian Ocean. In conclusion, the article looks at the concepts of piracy, terrorism and development in the Horn of Africa, suggests that piracy is a form of Terrorism and, makes a series of recommendations

KENYA’S CONSTITUTION AND CHILD TRAFFICKING AS A SECURITY THREAT

Human trafficking also referred to as modern-day slavery is seen as a security threat. Traditional security approaches to human trafficking call for analysis of trafficking as a threat to the Kenyan state and to Kenya’s control of its borders. Traditional security analyses of trafficking emphasize border security, migration controls, and international law enforcement cooperation. This article discusses three forms of child trafficking: sexual exploitation, forced labor and child soldiers and argues that the newly promulgated Kenyan constitution in chapter three on citizenship has a provision that can be interpreted as encouraging child trafficking

WAR TERMINATION IN SOMALIA AND KENYA DEFENSE FORCES’ (KDF) ROLE

War causes and conduct have fascinated war planners, war executors and scholars for a long time because little attention has been given to how wars are ended. This oversight is apparent not only in historical accounts of warfare but, more importantly, in contemporary analyses and doctrinal formulations of deterrence and overall defense policies. Just as historians have focused on how wars begin and are fought, military analysts and planners have concentrated on influencing the initiation and conduct of warfare rather than on analyzing the process and requirements for terminating warfare on acceptable terms and at acceptable costs. Conflict termination is the formal end of fighting, not the end of conflict. Despite the volumes of research and literature on the subject, belligerents mismanage war termination. The major objective of wartime strategy is defeating enemy arms as quickly as possible with the least cost in friendly casualties. As long as hostilities endure, diplomacy is subordinated to military requirements. War termination planning, as it is currently accomplished, takes the form of civil affair planning on the details of how the vanquished will be managed following the capitulation of the enemy and cessation of hostilities. We argue that Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) prudently terminated its war with the terrorists group Al-Shabaab that merged with Al-Qaeda when they agreed to be integrated into the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) which is backed up by the United Nations

Cheprot et Al_PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF KENYAN SORGHUM LINES.pdf

Eighty nine Kenyan sorghum lines were screened for tolerance to aluminium toxicity in nutrient solution. Relative net root growth; root tip aluminium content and variation in organic acid exudation were used to determine the tolerance or sensitivity of the sorghum lines at 148 μM Al for six days. The lines showed variable reduction in root growth under the Al stress. On the basis of the relative net root growths, three lines were tolerant, nineteen were moderately tolerant and sixty seven were sensitive to the Al stress. The tolerant lines secreted up to five times more citrate compared to sensitive lines under the Al treatment. All the lines secreted extremely low quantities of malate under aluminium stress despite a significant positive regression (R 2 = 0.83) between malate secretion and relative net root growth. There was a negative regression between relative net root growth and root aluminium concentration (R2 = -0.79) among the selected sorghum lines, and the sensitive lines accumulated up to three times the amount of Al compared to the tolerant lines.. The Al tolerant sorghum lines were selected for improved sorghum production in acid soil. The objectives of this study were to (i) identify Al tolerant Kenyan sorghum lines, (ii) investigate tolerance mechanisms employed by Kenyan sorghum lines against Al stress

KENYA’S PRE - EMPTIVE AND PREVENTIVE INCURSION AGAINST AL - SHABAAB IN THE LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Al-Shabaab terrorist group’s series of kidnappings and cross-border incursions into Kenya threatened security and the lucrative tourism industry in East Africa's largest economy. Towards the end of 2011 events like the kidnapping of two foreigners and the killing of another in the Kenyan resorts on the east coast, the abduction of two aid workers from the Dadaab refugee camp, and the attack against Kenyan soldiers in cross-border raids raised a lot of concern for the Kenyan government. Consequently, the latter decided that the national security interest of Kenya had to be protected. As a result, the decision of the government was to go to war against Al- Shabaab. This prompted the Kenya Defence Forces’ (KDF) incursion to Somalia in a pre-emptive and preventive campaign aimed at fl ushing out Al-Shabaab from this country. The campaign took off in mid-October 2011 and it was dubbed “Operation Linda Nchi”, Swahili for “Protect the country’. In this article we look at the implication of Kenya’s pre-emptive and preventive incursion against Al- Shabaab from the perspective of international law

Ojunga(Etiegni)_Impact of a Kraft Pulp and Paper Mill Effl uent on

Phytoplankton and macroinvertebrate assemblages were used to assess the impact of a kraft pulp and paper mill effluent in Kenya, on River Nzoia downstream of the discharge point in relation to changes in water quality during May to June and November 2008 (rainy and dry seasons, respectively). Total phosphorus concentration increased from 0.027 mg·L-1 upstream to 0.04 mg·L-1 downstream. Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration was 0.51 mg·L-1 upstream and 0.86 mg·L- 1 downstream. Nitrate concentration stood at 1.18 mg·L-1 upstream compared with the 2.23 mg·L-1 downstream. The pH changed from 4.5 to 5.0 upstream to 5.5 to 6.0 downstream, while DO increased from 6.57 to 7.03 mg·L-1 downstream. The BOD5 (biochemical oxygen demand after five days) values remained almost unchanged from 4.63 mg·L-1 upstream to 4.67 mg·L-1 downstream. Taxon composition of phytoplankton and macroinvertebrates correlated with adverse environmental gradients resulting from the mill’s effluent discharge. Overall, there was a shift in composition and abundance of both phytoplankton and macroinvertebrates, with the downstream site recording high numbers of tolerant taxa (i.e., Microcystis sp. and Chironomus sp.). It was recommended that water quality monitoring with effluents of this nature be done using a combination of chemical analysis and biological indicators such as phytoplankton and macroinvertebrate

Phylogenetic Relationship among Kenyan Sorghum_Cheprot et al 2013.pdf

Eighty nine (89) sorghum lines sourced from various parts of Kenya were used to determine phylogenetic relationships based on 10 DNA fragments at AltSB loci with SbMATE, ORF9 and MITE primers. Nine lines of varying aluminium tolerance levels were selected to compare their SbMATE gene expression via the real-time PCR quantification of SbMATE gene expression. The sorghum line MSCR O2 expressed a thousandfold more SbMATEgene activity than the sensitive lines (MSCRM49, MSCRN84 and MSCRN61) under Al treatment. Analysis was done by agarose gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide. The objective of this study was to assess the level of phylogenetic relationships among the Kenyan sorghum germplasms at a known Al tolerance locus. Hierarchical cluster analysis joined at 70% simple matching coefficient using average linkage similarity level produced nine groups in which 67 lines fell in three major clusters of 39, 15 and 13 lines each. The three Al tolerant lines MSCRO2, MSCRC1 and MSCRN60 were clustered together. Lines MSCRO2, MSCRC1 and MSCRN60, screened to be Al tolerant were genetically related at 70% average linkage similarity level and therefore recommend their further development as a food security measure in Kenya