Posts

Posts

Why Kenya's Consumer Protection Regime Needs a Gender Lens

Image
    Image Generated by Gemini . [i]   Article by Ninette Mwarania and Abiud Lagat . [ii] Millions of Kenyan women buy food, pay school fees, take out loans, transact through mobile money and sign insurance policies daily. They represent a segment of consumers who occasionally experience concerns, be it a defective product, a predatory loan, a fraudulent digital transaction, a late delivery or even expired milk. The challenge, however, is that empirical evidence suggests that women are far less likely than men to formally complain. The tragedy, is that Kenya's consumer protection system is not designed to notice, let alone fix, that gap. A 14 year analysis of the Competition Authority of Kenya's (the Authority) 2,682 unique consumer complaints between FY2012/13 and FY2025/26 [1] tell a stark story. 1,770 (66.1%) of these complaints were lodged by men and 912 (33.9%) by women, roughly two complaints from men for one from a woman. Set against Kenya's actual popu...
1 comment
Read more

The Subscription Maze: One Click to Join, Twenty to Leave

Image
    Illustration by Gemini. [1]     Ninette K. Mwarania [i] One Friday evening after a long work week, Mary signed up for a seven-day free trial to stream a television series everyone was talking about. She made a mental note to cancel before the week was up, but life got in the way, and she forgot. Eight days later, her bank account was debited KES 9,800 for a full year's subscription. There was no reminder from the platform beforehand. She logged in to cancel, expecting it to be as quick as signing up had been. Instead, she was funneled through menu after menu, repeated confirmation prompts and offers designed to make her stay. It took her less than a minute to sign up and over twenty, spread across several days, to get her money back. Mary's experience is not an outlier. It is fast becoming a norm for digital platforms users.   At the 9th Meeting of the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy held in Gen...
1 comment
Read more

Unregistered Community Land is Not a Blank Cheque: Insights From Osman v Northern Rangelands Trust [2025] eKLR (ELC).

Image
  Illustration by Gemini. [1]   Article by Newseen Nyongesa. I.           Introduction On 24 January 2025, the Environment and Land Court in Isiolo delivered a landmark judgement on community land governance, indigenous rights protection, and climate finance mechanisms. In Osman & 164 others v Northern Rangelands Trust & 8 others [2] , a three-judge bench declared the establishment of two community wildlife conservancies in Chari and Cherab Wards of Merti Sub-County in Isiolo County unconstitutional and directed their dissolution. Carbon projects, initiatives in which landholders or communities commit to practices that sequester or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in exchange for tradable carbon credits [3] have emerged as a key instrument in the global fight against climate change. [4] Wildlife conservancies which are initiatives in which communities agree to restrict grazing patterns over their land by setting...
1 comment
Read more

Peace

Image
    Illustration by Gemini. [i] Poem by Kariuki wa Njumbi Peace must be guarded like a flame, For once it dies, Cities crumble, And fear walks freely. Those who break peace Have never paid its price— For it is forged in blood and sweat, Spilled so strangers may live. Therefore, guard it with courage, With a zeal stronger than rage; For peace thrives not on might alone, But on hearts willing to choose it.   [i]  " Generate an Image which elucidates this topic: ' Peace must be guarded like a flame ..." prompt. Gemini , Google, 14 Apr. 2026, gemini.google.com.
1 comment
Read more

Emergence

Image
    Illustration by Gemini. [i] Poem By Kariuki wa Njumbi. As the dark earth swallowed her, hope seemed lost, and silence wrapped her soul in shadow. Yet she did not know a new chapter was already dawning. The heavens wept. In the darkness, she drank deeply, swelling until she burst— not in ruin, but into life. She rose victorious. The sun rested gently upon her tender leaves, the wind hummed a familiar song, and her stem stood firm and unafraid as she reached toward the high heavens.   [i]  " Generate an Image which illustrates this poem: ' As the dark earth swallowed her ..." prompt. Gemini , Google, 14 Apr. 2026, gemini.google.com.
Post a Comment
Read more