Enacted after a protracted review process characterised by many false starts, tensions and at times violence, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 envisions a radical break from a politically repressive past. It envisages extensive political transformation; a momentous shift in the political configuration of the polity in terms of its governance structures and the equilibrium of power among its institutions. It also entails a change in the normative arrangements, culture, attitudes and practices that surround politics and the exercise of public power. Crucially, as part of the transformation project, the Constitution has made a resolute commitment to fundamental rights and freedoms. Key among these is the right to freedom of expression. Freedom of expression enjoys protection in democratic constitutions around the world and in international law, albeit in different formulations. The right has repeatedly received affirmation in apex courts, including in Kenya, as the ?bedrock of democratic governance,? and similar praises. Except for jitters raised by the recent enactment of a plethora of expression-restricting laws and increased controversial prosecutions, there has been a general assumption that the protection of the right in Kenya is solid. This study aims, in part, at evaluating and deconstructing that assumption. In particular, the thesis answers the following research questions: (a) what is the nature and scope of the right to freedom of expression and its limitations in Kenya? (b) what are the transformative goals of Kenya?s 2010 Constitution? (c) what is the role of the right to freedom of expression in Kenya?s project of transformation?, and (d) do the limitations of freedom of expression under Kenyan law meet the standards of the 2010 Constitution? The thesis concludes that the transformation envisaged in the Constitution cannot be complete without fundamental changes in the law, practice and attitudes that surround freedom of expression. This is because, as the thesis shows, freedom of expression has the role of legitimating, facilitating, and defending the envisioned change. While the Constitution has created a framework with the potential to support transformation, freedom of expression restrictions contained in statutes, English common law and judicial precedents undercut the protection of the right. In other words, while some of these restrictions serve legitimate purposes, the constitutional validity of others is suspect. This situation, in turn, undermines the transformative aspirations of the 2010 Constitution. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Centre for Human Rights / LLD / Unrestricted

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.