While the theme of justice is central to Kenya’s constitution, writes Yash Pal Ghai, it cannot in and of itself guarantee its own effectiveness.

Kenya has for many years been running two legal systems in parallel, the common law and community justice systems. With the country in need of ‘common guidelines’ around the administration of community justice, Jedidah Wakonyo Waruhiu, Florence Gachichio and Ezra Rotich discuss the challenges facing the system.

While the Kenyan courts have some way to go before they achieve the sort of impact that the Indian courts have had, the country’s new constitution should work towards making the courts of Kenya the courts for Kenyans, writes Jill Cottrell Ghai.

In celebration of the late Chief Justice CB Madan QC, his children Kamla Madan Dhall and Anil Madan reflect on the life and experiences of their father.

Despite official rhetoric about the separation of powers, colonial-era judges were routinely ‘used as an instrument of policy’, with this relationship between administration and judiciary essentially sustained after independence, writes Ramnik Shah, in a discussion of Kenya’s post-colonial legal system.

'The rebellion of the poor in this country is growing,' writes Ayanda Kota, the chair of the Unemployed People's Movement in the Mail and Guardian, days before South Africans vote in local elections on 18 May. 'More and more organisations are emerging. More and more people have become radicalised. More and more communities have lost their illusions after experiencing the violence of the predator state. More and more people are starting and joining discussions about the way forward for the struggle to take the country back.'

Democratic Republic of Congo's plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in November are unconstitutional and unrealistic, the country's leading opposition parties said on Sunday. A statement noted voter registration had been completed in only two of 11 provinces and warned the poll could be delayed. The opposition said it was still determined to take part. The statement also criticised security in the build-up to the vote, repeating accusations that opposition supporters have been intimidated, attacked and killed by the authorities.

Tunisia's prime minister suggested on Sunday (08 May) that July elections for an assembly to draw up a new constitution could be delayed, potentially fuelling unease among anti-government protesters over the path to democracy. The North African country has struggled to restore stability since a revolution in January ousted authoritarian ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and inspired uprisings across the Arab world.

Alassane Ouattara has been sworn in as Ivory Coast president in a ceremony after months of political violence in the world's leading cocoa producer followed his victory in last November's elections. Ouattara, 69, was sworn in at the presidential palace by the head of the Constitutional Council, Paul Yao N'Dre, watched by members of his government, the armed forces and the diplomatic community.

While foreign direct investment in least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa has risen sharply over the past decade, most of it went to resource-rich economies and had little impact on employment creation.
On the eve of the fourth United Nations’ conference on LDCs, UNCTAD has launched a study on the developmental effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), adopted at the 2001 LDCs conference as one of the tools to foster development in poor countries. The study, called 'FDI in LDCs: Lessons learned from the decade 2001 – 2010', shows the results are at best mixed.

The dominant approaches to development have failed the world’s poorest citizens and now the paradigm must change. This is the strong message coming from over 2,000 non-governmental organisations gathered at the civil society forum for the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in Istanbul, Turkey. Arjun Karki, spokesperson for the forum, told the gathering that the failure to see more LDC countries graduate from this most vulnerable classification reflects a serious failure of the model of development aid advanced by leading players in the international community.

What: Picket by Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers and Blikkiesdorp residents.

Where: Parliament (Cnr Roeland St & Plein St)

When: 12h00 - 13h00 on the 16th of May

Why: We will be protesting against the horrible conditions in Tin Town and the government's failure to honour their agreement to engage with us on our struggle for housing.

From there, Authors will walk over to the Book Lounge to present to the public our new anthology .

Venue: Book Lounge, 71 Roeland St, Cape Town
Date: 16 May 2011
Time: 5:30 for 6

Tunisian police have used tear gas and batons to break up protests demanding the resignation of the government in the most violent confrontation for weeks with pro-democracy demonstrators. A demonstration in central Tunis by about 200 people on Friday called for the resignation of the transitional government and 'a new revolution'. Farhat Rajhi, Tunisia's former minister of the interior, called for calm earlier on Friday after causing an outcry with his statement that a 'coup d'etat' could take place in the country.

ANC national executive committee member Billy Masetlha has become the first senior ruling party member to openly say the alleged plot to oust Jacob Zuma as ANC president next year is real. Masetlha spoke out on the same day that Tokyo Sexwale, the human settlements minister and also an NEC member, addressed a press conference in Pretoria at which he rubbished the allegations implicating him in the plot.

Zambia has enjoyed economic growth of around six per cent per year over the past decade, says Patrick Mucheleka, but the government is failing to translate this into social and economic development for the majority of citizens. The upcoming conference on least developed countries in Turkey offers an opportunity to recalibrate the country's approach to development. Mucheleka, who heads Civil Society for Poverty Reduction, a network of more than 140 pro-poor development organisations in Zambia, says the economic growth figures have to be discounted against the growth in the country's population. Further, the sectors that have driven growth are capital-intensive, creating relatively few new jobs.

‘As workers and taxpayers of this country, we were shocked and disgusted yesterday that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga refused to attend the Uhuru Park workers' day celebrations, writes George Nyongesa, national coordinator of Kenya’s Bunge la Mwananchi (People’s Parliament).

Reflecting on discussions with the audience at the screening of a documentary about the assassination of Congo’s first prime minister Patrice Lumumba, Cameron Duodu shares a less known fact that ‘the fiery politician was also as very good poet.’

In Tunisia, the makers of the first Arab democratic revolution are organising for elections. It is not a passive process. Protests are called almost daily and have kept up momentum towards transforming a country rather than 'just' evicting a dictator who ruled for 23 years. On the sidelines, the old regime and its angry secret policeman are waiting; on the other side, well-financed religious parties will rise if the hopes of a generation are disappointed. Participating in a solidarity tour to Tunisia, Amanda Sebestyen finds a country of dedicated organisers, heights of suffering and generosity, and a dangerous neglect of the deprived heartlands where the uprising was born.

‘As quiet as it is kept, international terrorism did not begin on 11 September 2001.’ Before Osama bin Laden, there was Luis Posada Carriles, writes Horace Campbell.

Could the ideas in Mahmood Mamdani’s article be applied in the Arab world too, asks Rahela Mizrahi.