Otherwise?

The Lake Turkana basin is an over 70,000-square-kilometer region that is home to Lake Turkana, East Africa's most saline lake, and the largest desert lake in the world. The area is home to pastoral communities like the Turkana, Samburu, El Molo, Rendille, Gabra and Dassanach. It is also a breeding ground for Nile crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and many snakes. On 26th March 2012, Mwai Kibaki announced the discovery of oil in Turkana County by Tullow Oil, a British company. Three wells had been discovered, holding at least 250 million barrels. Since then, more oil has been discovered, and it is estimated hat we have between 600 million - 1 billion barrels.

We're joined by Ikal Angelei, coordinator of Friends of Lake Turkana, to discuss the oil in Turkana as well as the other environmental issues affecting the Lake Turkana area. Press play!

Resources

Early Oil from Turkana – Marginal Benefits/Unacknowledged Costs Report

Kenya Civil Society Platform on Oil & Gas (KCSPOG) Statement: Early Oil Pilot Scheme Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Kenya beats odds to become first EA nation to export oil "When I grew up the land was for the community": Oil troubles in Turkana Oil discovery in Turkana County, Kenya: A source of conflict or development? Cost of Turkana oil stand-off hits Sh1bn Tullow Oil threatens to shut down Turkana operations in two weeks Leaders reach deal to allow trucking of oil from Turkana Image Credit: Turkana Land

The #Repeal162 movement is a part of a long struggle for the recognition and protection of the rights of the LGBTQI community in Kenya. It consists of 2 ongoing court cases: Eric Gitari v Attorney General & another (Petition no. 150 of 2016) and John Mathenge and 7 others v Attorney General (Petition no. 234 of 2016). These petitions ask the court to declare Section 162 (a) and (c) and section 165 of the Penal Code (Cap 63) as unconstitutional, and therefore inapplicable, in Kenya.

We're joined by Kari Mugo of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) to talk about #Repeal162 as well as the human rights environment in Kenya for LGBTQI persons.

In 2017, the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) had its license refuse to be renewed by the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) for failure to submit its audited financial statements and amounts paid in royalties to its members. MCSK is a membership organization that has existed since 1983 (for music authors, publishers, composers, and arrangers), and it is supposed to collect royalties derived from mechanical/reproduction rights, performing rights and synchronization rights and distribute at least 70% to its members. This has not been the case in recent years.

We are joined by Dan Aceda, a musician and director at the Music Publishers Association of Kenya (MPAKE), to discuss how copyright works, the problem with the under-resourcing of KECOBO, the rot at MCSK, the failure to pay musicians their royalties, and the way forward for musicians and lovers of their work. Press play!

This week, we explore tax justice, which looks at the intersection between taxation, inequality and human rights. Why do we pay taxes? We have a social contract with the state. We give up some freedoms to it, and in return we receive security, healthcare, education, infrastructure and other services that enable us to become a functional and prosperous society. To invest in these social programs and in public property, which enables our goal, the government needs steady/sustainable financing from taxes. Taxes are also used to re-distribute money that is concentrated in the upper classes to the middle and lower classes. They help us run an effective government, which is why it matters how much money is collected, how it is collected, and how it is used.

Do taxes perform their functions in Kenya? What exactly is tax justice, and why is the conversation around it important in Kenya today? Is Kenya's tax regime going to pull us out of poverty or keep us there? Why is it that Kenya can't raise enough revenue from taxation? How can we go about stopping tax dodging to ensure we're not robbing the poor? Should we have a tax strike? We're joined by Joy Ndubai, a tax justice advocate, to answer all these questions. Press play!

7th July in Kenya is Saba Saba Day, a historic day on which Kenyans protested successfully for multiparty democracy in 1990, with many losing their lives and getting beaten and tortured by the police. This year, there was the Saba Saba March for Our Lives, organized by the Social Justice Centres Working Group, which consists groups from Mathare, Dandora, Kayole, Mukuru, Kibra, Kamukunji and Githurai. The demand? An end to extrajudicial killings, investigations into the ones that have occurred, and most importantly, justice. We're joined by Wangui Kimari, Urban Anthropologist and Participatory Action Research Coordinator, Mathare Social Justice Centre, to discuss this. Press play!

This episode is dedicated to everyone who lives and loves in Nairobi, as well as everyone who's been in the city. We're joined by Mutheu Mbondo, one of the organizers of Nai Ni Who?, a festival which explores of Nairobi, celebrating the good, the bad & the possibilities. This year, the festival is from July 3rd to August 8th, and the neighbourhoods include the Jua Kali area and Burma Market, which are both in Kamukunji; Kibra, Eastleigh, Mukuru and Huruma; there are inter-neighbourhood games in Lang'ata, a crafts tour as well as a game tour in Karen; a city parade in the Nairobi Central Business District, as well as walking tours of Kenyatta Avenue and River Road.

What is the motivation for the festival? What informs the selection of the places the tour will take place? Why these areas/neighbourhoods and not others? Why a walking tour? What unique flavour do they add to Nairobi? Press play to find out!

Rafiki, a film by Wanuri Kahiu, is a story about two young women who fall in love, despite their families being on opposing sides of the Kenyan political divide. It is adapted from the 2007 Caine Prize-winning short story, Jambula Tree, by Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko. On 12th April 2018, it was announced that it would debut at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category in May 2018. This made it the first Kenyan feature film to achieve this feat.

On 27th April 2018, the head of Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), Ezekiel Mutua, announced that the film had been banned from screening and distribution in Kenya because of "its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law." We are joined by Wanuri Kahiu to discuss the film, the story it tells, and what it mean whens stories that are made primarily for a Kenyan audience are denied this audience. Press play!

On 16th May 2018, Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, despite critiques from multiple parties, including the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), Article 19, and the Kenyan Union of Journalists, among others. As a result, BAKE moved to court to challenge this law, and 26 out of 46 sections were suspended, and this was upheld earlier this week until a later hearing in October 2018.

While some people think it does the important work of protecting our country against cybercrime and protecting the digital economy, others rightfully believe it is an attack on internet freedoms, constitutional rights to privacy, freedom of expression and to access information. We are joined by Grace Mutungu, a lawyer and associate at KICTANET, to discuss the Act. Press play!

Resources

The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2017)

Kenya: Computer and Cybercrimes Bill 2017

Kenya: Passage of flawed Computer and Cybercrimes Act threatens free expression

Kenya's Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Bill Signed into Law

Review on the New Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act – Kenya

The Computer and Cybercrimes Bill of 2017

New cybercrime law 'is not too bad', says CS Mucheru

Cybercrime law changes too harsh, lobbies say

High Court suspends portions of cybercrime law

Privacy, security and legality are not the only serious problems with Aadhaar. Here are four more

Aadhaar Isn't Just About Privacy. There Are 30 Challenges the Govt Is Facing in Supreme Court

The odd reality of life under China's all-seeing credit score system

Life Inside China's Social Credit Laboratory

Image Credit: Barefoot Law

Between October 2017 and January 2018, many Kenyans came online to complain about electricity bills that were double, and in some cases triple, what they normally pay. These were, in essence, backdated electricity bills intended to recover KES 10.1 billion in fuel costs that Kenya Power had included in their financial statements for the year ending June 30 2017 with the intent to recover from consumers.

As a result, Apollo Mboya and the Electricity Consumers Society of Kenya moved to court to stop this action. This marked the beginning of the #SwitchOffKPLC Campaign. We are joined by Jerotich Seii, a humanitarian and development consultant, active citizen and one of the organizers of the campaign to discuss its importance to Kenyan democracy. Press play!

Resources

Episode 55: #DeCOALonize

Legal action lodged against Kenya Power for inflated billing

POWER STRUGGLES: Unmasking the thieves behind the KPLC heist

HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND SEX TOYS: Plunder by the numbers

It is time to end the suffocating monopoly Kenya Power enjoys

Skewed deals between Kenya and power firms spark price shocks

Why Ruto's ally Charles Keter holds the lucrative Ministry of Energy

How to work out the average cost of electricity in Kenya

Power bills to go down as Uhuru orders levy scrap

Delayed KPLC tokens thrust Kenyans into darkness

Ketraco defends value for Sh200bn power lines amid delays

Sh6.3 billion scam erupts at power transmission firm

Sales of off-grid solar systems dim in 7 years

Electricity tariffs to drop by 8pc in July, ERC tells House

Image Credit: Pulse Live

Between May 2017 and June 2018, 47 Ugandan women have been found brutally murdered; having been kidnapped and sexually assaulted or raped. Only three suspects have been arrested in relation to these kidnappings and murders, and none of them has been convicted or jailed. The investigations have been slow, and as a result, Ugandan women have decided to protest against the slow response by the police on the 30th of June 2018. Today, we're joined by Godiva Akullo, Deputy Director of Chapter Four Uganda and one of the conveners of the Women's Protest Working Group. We talk about femicide, violence against women, and how we can support their protest. Press play!

Resources

Uganda's women say enough is enough

Why are so many women being murdered in Uganda?

Family seeks justice for student who fell off a moving bus to her death

Magara narrates how daughter Susan met her gruesome death

Is Susan Magara murder investigation dead?

Fury over arrest of academic who called Uganda's president a pair of buttocks

Uganda: Why Stella Nyanzi's radical rudeness scares the government

Even The Streets Aren't Safe

Kenyans hold miniskirt rally after assault

Image Credit: Dr. Stella Nyanzi