Me, Myself, and A.I.: Should Kenya’s Patent Law Be Amended to Recognise Machine Learning Systems as Inventors?

On 28 July 2021, South Africa set the record for being the first country in the world to grant a patent to an artificial intelligence (AI) system known as ‘Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience’ (DABUS). Although DABUS is not the first AI system to produce patentable products, it is the first AI system to be listed as an inventor in a patent application, attracting worldwide interest. Against this backdrop, this article seeks to analyse whether Kenya’s Industrial Property Act, 2001 (IPA) should evolve to recognise machine learning (ML) systems as inventors. It submits that some ML systems are capable of inventive activity that is equivalent to or superior to that of the human intellect and that such systems should be recognised as inventors. This paper illustrates that Kenya's IPA, however, is unable to recognise ML systems since it is based on anthropocentric standards that, when put into practice, preclude the acknowledgement of non-human inventors. Therefore, this article makes several recommendations aimed at overhauling not only Kenya's IPA but also the country’s patent system

The Insanity of Kenya’s ‘Guilty but Insane’ Verdict

A person may be insane while committing an unlawful act, leading them to raise the defence of insanity in court. This defence argues that the person’s illness prevented them from having the criminal intent needed to satisfy the mens rea requirement for criminal responsibility. The successful establishment of this defence in Kenya leads to the court issuing a special verdict of ‘guilty but insane’ (GBI). This verdict sees that the defendant is incarcerated in a place of safe custody where they can be treated for the illness that contributed to their commission of the offence. While isolation and treatment of the defendant form the primary aims of the verdict, this paper demonstrates that they are barely achieved in Kenya. This is because the conditions crucial to the verdict’s implementation–medication and therapy, a place of custody and the presence of psychiatrists–are wanting in the country. After examining the institutional barriers to the realisation of the verdict’s objectives, the paper studies various responses to these challenges by Kenya and Ghana. It finds solutions that promote the realisation of the verdict’s aims such as the provision of educational opportunities in forensic psychiatry

HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS IN AFRICA

The etymology of the term mathematics  (mathematikos) points to two Greek words, mathema and manthanein, indexing a science and to learn respectively. Subsequently, mathematics has been defined as the study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets, using numbers and symbols (Collins). More broadly, mathematics is the study or use of numbers and shapes to calculate, represent or describe things (Oxford). Distilling from the definitions above is the incontrovertible argument that mathematics is essential to reasoning.Reasoning is critical to the advancement of any society. Underwood Dudley in a paper entitled “What is mathematics for?” argues that society cannot do without mathematics. He further notes that mathematics is the best way to learn how to reason, and that is its purpose, not to find jobs. Little wonder than the WeUSeMath.org concludes that math leads to purpose, opportunities and success.Key words: mathematics, history, reasoning, Afric

Patrimoine linguistique au Kenya : Genèse et évolution du Sheng

La langue est un vecteur important de culture et donne expression au patrimoine d'un pays. Ca peut être à la fois la forme et le contenu même du patrimoine. D'où la nécessité de valoriser la langue comme patrimoine et expression de ce dernier. Le Kenya jouit d'une palette d'une quarantaine de langues africaines sans parler de l'anglais, la langue du pouvoir, et le swahili, la langue véhiculaire. Le sheng fait irruption au début des années 1950 comme langue hybride, combinant presque tous les idiomes en contact (swahili, anglais, langues vernaculaires, etc.). Etant donné que c'est la langue privilégiée des jeunes urbains et compte tenu de l'exode rural, il est important de considérer ce sous-langage et les dynamiques qui lui sont liées. Mots-cles: sheng, patrimoine, urbanisation, jeunesse.La langue est un vecteur important de culture et donne expression au patrimoine d'un pays. Ca peut être à la fois la forme et le contenu même du patrimoine. D'où la nécessité de valoriser la langue comme patrimoine et expression de ce dernier. Le Kenya jouit d'une palette d'une quarantaine de langues africaines sans parler de l'anglais, la langue du pouvoir, et le swahili, la langue véhiculaire. Le sheng fait irruption au début des années 1950 comme langue hybride, combinant presque tous les idiomes en contact (swahili, anglais, langues vernaculaires, etc.). Etant donné que c'est la langue privilégiée des jeunes urbains et compte tenu de l'exode rural, il est important de considérer ce sous-langage et les dynamiques qui lui sont liées. Mots-cles: sheng, patrimoine, urbanisation, jeunesse.&#160

Value Chain Governance and Governmentality of Horticultural Exporters by Developing Economies: A perspective of Kenya’s Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Export Sector

The domain of governance has largely been extolled by Nations, States or governmental and intergovernmental actors especially in upholding Nations’ sovereignty and values. While this still holds, governance complexity has been reinforced by establishment of global value chains such as in food and agriculture commodities increasingly being influenced and controlled by non-state actors in different parts of the world by both corporate and retail actors through private governance mechanisms. These mechanisms often fall short of universal standards and the resultant effect is ramified through proliferation of standards that result to state of governance that is constantly being redefined as ‘codes of colours’. This paper thus seeks for an alternate dimension based on Foucault’s governmentality theory. The quest for this overarching theory is based on its mediatory role that regulates the excesses of private interests in regulations while not prioritizing any state’s sovereignty but views governance inclusively to both the State and non-state actors; this view promotes the broader understating of global value chains in the global economy of the 21st century. The paper’s methodology is based on literature review pertinent to governance theory, value chain governance, governmentality as its key variables in light of the agrifood sector. It applies the value chain discourse and governmentatity in light of the Kenya’s Horticultural export and strategic positioning to the EU market. This paper’s novelty in light of the discourse and building on the body of knowledge and for the plausible ways and means to re-articulate value chain governance in the global economy while creating a viable alternative between the States, and Non-State actors for the benefit of both the upstream agents and downstream customers

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF SUCCESSFUL AGEING: THE CASE OF RUWARE PARK IN MARONDERA, ZIMBABWE

Social constructions of successful ageing provide an invaluable resource for challenging and reconfiguring approaches and models of geriatric care. This paper has established that contrary to normative framing of successful ageing as that (ageing) which is free from diseases and infirmity, older persons in Ruware Park of Marondera had some social, cultural, personal and economic conceptualisations of the notion. Based on these varied conceptualisations, this paper has advocated for the remodelling of geriatric care programmes, policies and philosophies towards infusing localised notions of successful ageing in forming comprehensive and multidimensional geriatric intervention plans. Social work is critical in effectuating the change

Time Utilization and Its Inuence on Actual Oral Skills Teaching in Public Primary Schools in Uasin Gishu County Kenya

The paper aimed at establishing whether a relationship existed between time spent and oral skills delivery. The study questions were: how much time do teachers spend on actual oral skills teaching in public primary schools in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya? To what extent did the teachers' experience influenced the utilization of time stipulated for oral skills teaching? How does teachers' training influence the use of time allocated for oral lessons, does the location of a school influence the use of time allocated for oral lessons? Pre-test post-test comparison group design guided the study. The target population was class one teachers of English and class one pupils. Stratified simple random sampling procedure was used to get the sample size. Observation schedule and document analysis guide were used to collect data. Data analysis was via frequencies, means, percentages and multiple regression