Rethinking Ethical Leadership in Kenya: Adopting A New Paradigm

Developing countries appear to many on the outside to be besieged by pervasive and endemic corruption. Although present in most governing systems globally, least developed countries especially struggle with a “business as usual, quid-pro-quo” institutionalized system of corrupt governing. Writer David Minja bravely takes on corruption at its most insidious level, drawing upon the prowess of both classic and contemporary scholars by introducing a path for those in positions of power and influence to more effectively connect theory to practice and effect fundamental change

Mashairi: a surviving art of the Swahili Muslim peoples of Lamu Town, Kenya

This research focuses on the phenomenon of Swahili poetry and its continued existence amongst Swahilis in Lamu Town, a performative art that is gradually waning in traditional contexts. When people talk about mashairi (poems) in Lamu Town they are referring to both Swahili songs and poems, the two terms are used interchangeably. Mashairi also refers to a form found in Swahili poetry. I look at the usage of the text from these mashairi as lyrics employed in duas (special Islamic prayers) and traditional songs and dances specifically performed by women during Swahili weddings. It is an art that has existed for hundreds of years dating back to the 11th century through oral sources. I begin by defining the East African region, who the Swahili people are, while providing a historical background of their origins and the Swahili language. I also explore Arabic influences on Swahili culture, language and literature as part of the Re-Centring AfroAsia project (Musical and human migrations in the pre-colonial period of 700-1500AD) that has sponsored this research project. Swahili poetry continues to celebrate traditional lyrics in songs and dances performed by women in contemporary Swahili culture. There are specific members of the community who are known to possess mashairi compositional skills. Families planning weddings and duas will request that these poets compose a corpus of mashairi with detailed specifications. They are then used as lyrics in songs and dances attached to these ceremonies or they are performed as stand-alone songs. Mashairi had first existed as oral literature and stand-alone songs owing to archaic wedding songs and dances. They continue to be an essential defining feature of Swahili traditional practices. I give a laconic history of classical Swahili poetry; how Arabic facets directly or indirectly influenced this art after Arabs developed ties with Africans living on the Swahili littoral. I provide a condensed historical background on the life of one of the first and most prolific Swahili poets, Fumo Liyongo, and briefly explore factors that influenced his compositions. I rigorously analyse lyrics of songs and dances whose texts have been derived from modern mashairi and compare their themes, narratives and structure with classical mashairi. I also scrutinize the role and importance of the art of mashairi as a source of lyrics and the efforts of two poets from Lamu Town whose compositions are socially impacting the society. This art has survived for hundreds of years and has come to symbolize the enduring spirit of the Swahili people

The development of political thought in the works of Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

The literature produced by Ngugi Wa Thion'go has contributed to the understanding of social, political and economic situations in Africa, and therefore to the process of development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of political thought in his works, and to move towards a theoretical framework within which analysis can determine the trend and direction of African political and social thought in general

Mobile communication in business development

Paper presented at ICT conference of 2009.Paper presented at ICT conference of 2009

Social and economic impacts of land reform in Mbeere

In this paper I look, first, in general at the tenure reform programme and its social and economic effects in Mbeere, and then pay particular attention to the increasing shift in emphasis from the agro-pastoral production system to crop cultivation and the changes in household organization. Thus the central theme of the paper is to discuss the dynamic process of Mbeere social/economic change in terms of shift of equilibrium in production system following the change of the tenure system. The paper also raises some questions relating to the implications of these changes on the development process in Mbeere

Diagnostic accuracy of axillary ultrasound in predicting nodal metastasis among patients with early breast cancer at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi

With emerging evidence showing that the incidence of breast cancer in Kenya is increasing, there is renewed emphasis on screening, early detection, and management of breast cancer. Early breast cancer (EBC) has a better prognosis and is potentially curable. Axillary nodal metastasis is an important prognostic indicator in breast cancer. Axillary ultrasound is the best modality for assessing, and managing, the affected nodes. It is a readily available and versatile tool with several sonographic nodal characteristics suggestive of metastatic involvement having been described in previous studies. Axillary ultrasound (AUS) performance in predicting nodal metastasis has yielded variable results which are mostly dependent on whether the authors included patients with larger tumors or additionally performed fine needle aspiration for cytology (FNA) or core needle biopsy (CNB) for nodes with suspicious ultrasound features. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is performed for node-negative patients while axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is performed for those with confirmed nodal metastases following either of FNA, CNB or SLNB. Based on the varying study findings and the lack of a similar study in Kenya, this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of axillary ultrasound (AUS) in predicting axillary node metastatic involvement among patients being managed for EBC in Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Primary objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of axillary ultrasound in predicting metastatic axillary nodal disease among patients managed for early primary breast cancer at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Methods: Our retrospective cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study included cases diagnosed with early primary breast cancer with available AUS and histology results, used as a reference standard, of lymph nodes evaluated following either SLNB or ALND over a five-year period, from January 2016 to December 2020. We excluded male patients, those with intervening neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those with breast cancer recurrence. A total of 108 women diagnosed with EBC fulfilled the criteria. Results: AUS was found to have sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of 59.0%, 88.4%, and 74.2%, 79.2% and 77.8% respectively. ROC curves were plotted for nodal cortical thickness and short axis diameters iv revealing optimal cortical thickness cutoff of 2.7 mm with improved sensitivity of 79.7% albeit with lower specificity of 66.7%. Conclusion: AUS performed similarly in a low resource setting where most ultrasounds are performed by sonographers with variable years of experience as in the western world in preoperative evaluation for nodal metastases in EBC

Multilingualism and the Public Sector in South Africa

This book contributes to the discourse on language in South Africa with a specific focus on multilingualism and the public sector

The legal and constitutional significance of Article 74(3) of the Kenyan draft constitution on improperly obtained evidence

The rules governing admissibility of improperly obtained evidence vary from one country to another. However, we can categorise the approaches in to two broad groups, i) Exclusionary approach and ii) Inclusionary approach. The exclusionary approach in its rigid form could be traced to the United States of America Supreme Court. The American exclusionary rule is to the effect that any illegally obtained evidence is not admissible. In Weeks v United States the court gave the rationale for the exclusionary rule as meant to protect the rights of citizens as provided in the Constitution and specifically the Bill of Rights. Day J noted, 'If letters and private documents can thus be seized and held and used on evidence against a citizen accused of an offence, the protection of the 4th Amendment, declaring his right to be secure against such searches and seizures, is of no value, and, so far as those thus placed are concerned, might as well be stricken from the constitution'. The American exclusionary approach has been adopted in other jurisdiction but in a modified form. The approach has had influence in continental jurisdictions, supranational regional jurisdictions and the evidential systems of international criminal tribunals

Social media and journalism: how twitter impacts news coverage in Kenya

Twitter had been extensively adopted by the public, journalists, and news organizations as a new digital tool for disseminating information. Therefore, if Twitter is considered a new and effective way of gathering information that makes up news content, an investigation on how it impacts news coverage, journalists, and newsroom practices is significant. The present study conducted said investigation and came up with findings that significantly contributed to the available information about the relationship between Twitter and news dissemination. It particularly investigated how Twitter impacts news content and coverage, journalistic routines, and newsroom practices in Kenya. This study draws its data from a review of journalists from four major media organizations in Kenya. The results suggest that Twitter has had a significant impact on both news content and coverage and journalistic routine. However, the platform was found to not have a significant impact on newsroom practices. Further explanation of the results is provided in the document