Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is cultivated by many farmers in the semi-arid areas of Kenya as a source of food and cash. However, the yields have remained low, ranging between 500 to 800 kg haˉ¹. Apart from drought, fusarium wilt is reported to affect yield. Breeding pigeonpea hybrids, using cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines, hybridized with the local improved germplasm, have the potential for increasing yield and improve income for smallholder farmers. The objectives of the study were to: 1) examine the various stakeholders of the pigeonpea value chain and their core functions and identify characteristics of the pigeonpea varieties preferred by the market to be considered in the hybrid breeding programme, 2) evaluate cytoplasmic male sterile lines of Indian origin for stability across several environments in Kenya, 3) screen pigeonpea genotypes for general resistance to Fusarim udum Butler and 4) evaluate pigeonpea hybrids for grain yield and earliness across sites and seasons in Kenya. The stakeholder analysis established that the main players in the pigeonpea value chain were farmers, traders/processors, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services, and Ministry of Agriculture. White seed, large seed size and medium maturity were the preferred traits by farmers and processors/exporters for both domestic and export markets. The unavailability of quality seed in sufficient quantities of high yielding varieties was cited as the main factor negatively affecting pigeonpea production. The stakeholder analysis approach, used for the first time in a breeding programme, demonstrated that it can be an important tool that can be used to diagnose crop production constraints, and define opportunities available for setting up a breeding programme that is highly client-oriented. Two CMS lines, ICPA2043 and ICPA2039 were the most stable across sites with 100% and 99% pollen sterility respectively. Screening for the presence of physiologic races of F. udum based on morphological and cultural characteristics on PDA identified three distinct isolate groups named ISO-A, ISO-B, and ISO-C. Studies under controlled conditions using the three isolates identified seven pigeonpea genotypes (ICPB2043, ICP12012, ICP13092, ICPA2039xICP13092, ICPA2043xICP12012, ICPA2043xICP13092, ICPA2043xICP9135) resistant to the three F. udum isolates. In the field evaluation, seven genotypes (ICPA2039xICP13092, ICPA2039xAsha, ICPA2043x12012, ICPA2043xICP13092, ICPA2043xICEAP557, ICPB2043 and Maruti) were found to be moderately resistant. The variances due to GCA and SCA were significant, showing that both additive and non-additive gene actions were important. The resistant hybrid, ICPA2043xICP12012 had the highest negative SCA that was highly significant for all the isolates and in the field indicating general resistance. The CMS (A) line ICPA2043 was found stable across environments and highly resistant to the three F. udum isolates. Therefore, it can be evaluated further for commercial hybrid seed production in Kenya. Evaluation of the pigeonpea genotypes across environments indicated that the highest yielding environment was Kiboko, with average and maximum yield of 2,249 kg haˉ¹ and 4,234 kg haˉ¹ respectively. Most hybrids were in the medium duration maturity group with days to maturity ranging from 147 to 186. Overall, the highest yielding hybrids were A2043xTZ26 and ICPA2039xTZ24 with mean yields 2,803 kg haˉ¹ and 2,527 kg haˉ¹ respectively. Mean yields for the best performing parents were 2,036 kg haˉ¹ for ICP12012 and 1,629 kg haˉ¹ for Asha. For specific sites, the highest yielding hybrids in Kabete, Kiboko and Leldet were A2039xTZ24 (2,057 kg haˉ¹), A2043xTZ26 (2,803 kg haˉ¹), and A2043xUG8 (1,708 kg haˉ¹) respectively. Mean heterosis for yield varied from -35% (A2039xA2043) to 50% (A2043xUG8). In Kenya, the potential for production and commercialization of hybrid pigeonpea is feasible due to high hybrid vigour recorded, and the stability of the CMS lines. Hybrids also have greater uniformity in grain size a factor which is important for the market. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Determining what is newsworthy is a daily challenge even to the very people who source news, produce and disseminate it. This study is part an exposition and exploration of the different approaches that media researchers have used to explain and determine the value of news. Like similar research before it, this study more specifically delves into the news selection process of news of one particular newspaper with the goal of investigating why and how news is selected for publication in the front page. News is the 'result of many forces: ranging from source power, journalistic orientation, medium-preference and market model, news values and production routines and processes. The study briefly expounds on the different definitions of news as perceived in terms of the developed and developing world. Just as journalists do not operate in a vacuum, a close examination of the various definitions reveals that news cannot be defined in isolation. Its definition is intrinsically tied to that of news values. Also explored here are debates about news values and their Western rootedness. Here reference is made to literature regarding theories on the social construction of meanings and on the gatekeeping concept.The study is informed by similar research in gatekeeping studies and sociology of news studies. It is important to state at the outset that the study is not concerned with how news is produced but why there is a bias for certain kinds of news. I am interested in explaining why and how the writers and editors at the East African Standard make decisions about what is worthy of being published on the front page of the newspaper. This distinction is necessary because the theories that inform this study transcend news sourcing and production. This study takes cognizance ofthe fact that one cannot separate social processes from the individual and vice versa. For this reason, this study investigates and analyses the biases of individual gatekeepers at the East African Standard as well as their collective biases. In the concluding section, this study calls for an alternative paradigm for journalism and news. The foregoing discussions in the other sections prove that a universal definition of news and what is newsworthy will not suffice and there is need to contexualise it.

This study investigates the Daily Nation and Standard’s news coverage of Kenya’s 2007/2008 general election and the unprecedented eruptions of violence which followed. This research responds to the question which came about as Kenyan print journalists and editors considered their role in possibly contributing to the violence, which took on an ethnic dimension. Vernacular radio has been fingered for having escalated longstanding ethnic tensions, but the role of the press has not been fully understood. In the aftermath of the violence, print journalists and editors met over a series of Round Table events in Nairobi to consider whether their conduct during the election could have encouraged violence. Although ten years have passed since this incidence, much of what happened within the Kenyan print media during and after the 2007/2008 general election remains unexplored and, largely, unexplained today. Although the pre- and post-election phases spanned months, my research is confined to purposive samples from a four-week period from 3 December 2007 to 4 January 2008. These four weeks were selected as they are roughly representative of the three phases of the national election which are considered significant to this study, namely the pre-election phase, the election, and the post-election violence. The research is concerned with analysing and understanding the coverage in the two dailies, the Daily Nation and Standard, and comparing the discursive work of the two, particularly in relation to identity and ethnicity. This study draws on cultural studies, critical discourse analysis and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The critical discourse analysis explores the discourses articulated during and after the election, with a particular focus on issues of identity, ethnicity and incitement. Through this process the study found that both publications avoided references to ethnicity, despite this being an important factor in Kenyan politics and voter behaviour. In analysing these issues the study found that while the publications might claim to attempt to avoid fuelling tensions by not reporting on ethnicity, the disavowal comprised a silence which positioned the press in a collaborative role, in which it colluded with a powerful Kenyan state. Although a significant amount of time has gone by since the 2007/2008 elections, this study still considers the event significant in understanding the conduct of journalists during times of violence, and specifically for the future of journalism in Kenya.

Public, Constitutional and International Law / LL. M.

No description available.

This thesis presents the findings of an exploration of teacher perceptions and actions to conserve wetlands in Kenya. It reports findings of a case study survey done with 54 primary school teachers from seven of eight Kenyan provinces. The teachers were sampled from a larger group of 242 teachers who participated in an in-service course on wetlands conservation. The in-service course engaged teachers in exploring various aspects of wetlands and how they could enhance their conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. The survey approach was used in the research and was augmented with a reflective process. Survey tools used were the questionnaires and interviews. The reflective process entailed observation, document analysis, field notes and the researcher’s diary. Research data was analysed in several stages. The study revealed that teachers were users of local wetlands just like other members of their communities. The teachers differed among themselves with respect to their perceptions of the value and threats to their local wetlands. The teachers also differed in their perceptions of community awareness of their local wetlands. The teachers’ perceptions about environmental education and wetlands were not holistic. The teachers recorded various opportunities to foster wetlands conservation in their local contexts at school and the community. These were their fellow teachers, the pupils, the subjects taught, clubs, environmental days and the community. The relative importance of these opportunities differed among the teachers. Many teachers claimed being motivated to promote wetlands conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. Their motivation was based on diverse aspects of wetlands, education and the in-service training they attended in 1999. However, the intensity of motivation differed for each aspect. For instance, at community level in-service training was a major motivator while the curriculum aspects were not mentioned at all. Teachers reported having involved their pupils and the community in several activities to conserve the local wetlands. These activities seemed to be dominated by theoretical approaches, eco-management activities and visits to wetlands. There was little evidence to indicate the teachers being engaged in addressing the implications for sustainability of the perceived local wetland values and threats. The activities reported also failed to show engagement with local environmental problems as a deliberate proactive process involving exploration, discussion, action taking and reflection. Most of the activities were presented as one off activities rather than as a cyclic continuously improving series of interventions. The overall scenario presented by the teachers is one of inadequacy in addressing the sustainable use of wetlands. Teachers suggested various constraints that affect their realisation of environmental education for wetlands sustainability. The constraints traverse various aspects of the economic, biophysical, political, educational and social aspects of wetlands conservation. The study suggested the need for teachers to treat their contextual and personal conceptions as problematic rather than as simplistic or linear issues and to formulate ways to address them. This study suggests a potential but under-utilised opportunity to promote wetlands sustainability. The overall picture generated by the data in this study is a need to consider wetland training for teachers that integrates the holistic aspects of wetlands as well as the environmental education for sustainability perspectives grounded in local contexts.

Water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases are responsible for 7% of all deaths and 8% of all disability adjusted live years (DALYs), as well as the loss of 320 million days of productivity in developing countries. Though laboratory and field trials have shown that household water treatment (HWT) technologies can quickly improve the microbiological quality of drinking water, questions remain about the effectiveness of these technologies under real-world conditions. Furthermore, the value that rural communities attach to HWT is unknown, and it is not clear why, in spite of the fact that rural African households need household water treatment (HWT) most, they are the least likely to use them. The primary objective of this multi-level study was to assess the post-implementation effectiveness of selected HWT technologies in the Nyanza and Western Provinces of Kenya. The study was carried out in the rainy season between March and May, 2011 using a mixed method approach. Evidence was collected in order to build a case of evidence of HWT effectiveness or ineffectiveness in a post-implementation context. A quasi-experimental design was used first to conduct a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey in 474 households in ten intervention and five control villages (Chapter 3). The survey assessed the context in which household water treatment was being used in the study villages to provide real-world information for assessing the effectiveness of the technologies. An interviewer-administered questionnaire elicited information about the water, sanitation and hygiene-related KAP of the study communities. A household water treatment (HWT) survey (Chapter 4) was carried out in the same study households and villages as the KAP study, using a semi-structured questionnaire to gather HWT adoption, compliance and sustained use-related information to provide insight into the perceived value the study households attach to HWT technologies, and their likelihood of adoption of and compliance with these technologies. The drinking water quality of 171 (one quarter of those surveyed during KAP) randomly selected households was determined and tracked from source to the point of use (Chapter 5). This provided insights into HWT effectiveness by highlighting the need for HWT (as indicated by source water quality) and the effect of the study households’ KAP on drinking water quality (as indicated by the stored water quality). Physico-chemical and microbiological water quality of the nineteen improved and unimproved sources used by the study households was determined, according to the World Health Organisation guidelines. The microbiological quality of 291 water samples in six intervention and five control villages was determined from source to the point-of-use (POU) using the WHO and Sphere Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. An observational study design was then used to assess the post-implementation effectiveness of the technologies used in 37 households in five intervention villages (Chapter 6). Three assessments were carried out to determine the changes in the microbiological quality of 107 drinking water samples before treatment (from collection container) and after treatment (from storage container) by the households. The criteria used to assess the performance of the technologies were microbial efficacy, robustness and performance in relation to sector standards. A Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) was then carried out in the HWT effectiveness study households to assess the technologies’ ability to reduce the users’ exposure to and probability of infection with water-borne pathogens (Chapter 7). The KAP survey showed that the intervention and control communities did not differ significantly in 18 out of 20 socio-economic variables that could potentially be influenced by the structured manner of introducing HWT into the intervention villages. The majority of the intervention group (IG) and the control group (CG) were poor or very poor on the basis of household assets they owned. The predominant level of education for almost two-thirds of the IG and CG respondents was primary school (completed and non-completed). Though very few were unemployed in IG (8.07%) and CG (14.29%), the two groups of respondents were predominantly engaged in subsistence farming — a low income occupation. With regard to practices, both groups had inadequate access to water and sanitation with only one in two of the households in both IG and CG using improved water sources as their main drinking water source in the non-rainy season. One in ten households in both study groups possessed an improved sanitation facility, though the CG was significantly more likely to practice open defecation than the IG. The self-reported use of soap in both study groups was mainly for bathing and not for handwashing after faecal contact with adult or child faeces. Despite the study groups' knowledge about diarrhoea, both groups showed a disconnection between their knowledge about routes of contamination and barriers to contamination. The most frequent reason for not treating water was the perceived safety of rain water in both the IG and CG. / The HWT adoption survey revealed poor storage and water-handling practices in both IG and CG, and that very few respondents knew how to use the HWT technologies correctly: The IG and CG were similar in perceived value attached to household water treatment. All HWT technologies had a lower likelihood of adoption compared to the likelihood of compliance indicators in both IG and CG. The users’ perceptions about efficacy, time taken and ease of use of the HWT technologies lowered the perceived value attached to the technologies. The assessment of the drinking water quality used by the study communities indicated that the improved sources had a lower geometric mean E. coli and total coliform count than the unimproved sources. Both categories of sources were of poor microbiological quality and both exceeded the Sphere Project (2004) and the WHO (2008) guidelines for total coliforms and E. Coli respectively The study communities’ predominant drinking water sources, surface water and rainwater were faecally contaminated (geometric mean E. coli load of 388.1±30.45 and 38.9±22.35 cfu/100 ml respectively) and needed effective HWT. The improved sources were significantly more likely than the unimproved sources to have a higher proportion of samples that complied with the WHO drinking water guidelines at source, highlighting the importance of providing improved water sources. The lowest levels of faecal contamination were observed between the collection and storage points which coincided with the stage at which HWT is normally applied, suggesting an HWT effect on the water quality. All water sources had nitrate and turbidity levels that exceeded the WHO stipulated guidelines, while some of the improved and unimproved sources had higher than permissible levels of lead, manganese and aluminium. The water source category and the mouth type of the storage container were predictive of the stored water quality. The active treater households had a higher percentage of samples that complied with WHO water quality guidelines for E. coli than inactive treater households in both improved and unimproved source categories. In inactive treater households, 65% of storage container water samples from the improved sources complied with the WHO guidelines in comparison to 72% of the stored water samples in the active treater households. However the differences were not statistically significant. The HWT technologies did not attain sector standards of effective performance: in descending order, the mean log10 reduction in E. coli concentrations after treatment of water from unimproved sources was PUR (log₁₀ 2.0), ceramic filters (log₁₀ 1.57), Aquatab (log₁₀ 1.06) and Waterguard (log₁₀ 0.44). The mean log10 reduction in E. coli after treatment of water from improved sources was Aquatab (log₁₀ 2.3), Waterguard (log₁₀ 1.43), PUR (log₁₀ 0.94) and ceramic filters (log₁₀ 0.16). The HWT technologies reduced the user’s daily exposure to water-borne pathogens from both unimproved and improved drinking water sources. The mean difference in exposure after treatment of water from unimproved sources was ceramic filter (log₁₀ 2.1), Aquatab (log₁₀ 1.9), PUR (log₁₀ 1.5) and Waterguard (log₁₀ 0.9), in descending order. The mean probability of infection with water-borne pathogens (using E.coli as indicator) after consumption of treated water from both improved and unimproved sources was reduced in users of all the HWT technologies. The difference in reduction between technologies was not statistically significant. The study concluded that despite the apparent need for HWT, the study households’ inadequate knowledge, poor attitudes and unhygienic practices make it unlikely that they will use the technologies effectively to reduce microbial concentrations to the standards stipulated by accepted drinking water quality guidelines. The structured method of HWT promotion in the intervention villages had not resulted in more hygienic water and sanitation KAP in the IG compared to the CG, or significant differences in likelihood of adoption and compliance with the assessed HWT technologies. Despite attaching a high perceived value to HWT, insufficient knowledge about how to use the HWT technologies and user concerns about factors such as ease of use, accessibility and time to use will impact negatively on adoption and compliance with HWT, notwithstanding their efficacy during field trials. Even though external support had been withdrawn, the assessed HWT technologies were able improve the quality of household drinking water and reduce the exposure and risk of water-borne infections. However, the improvement in water quality and reduction in risk did not attain sector guidelines, highlighting the need to address the attitudes, practices and design criteria identified in this study which limit the adoption, compliance and effective use of these technologies. These findings have implications for HWT interventions, emphasising the need for practice-based behavioural support alongside technical support.

In 1993, Kenya liberalised its trade policy and allowed the Kenyan Shillings to freely float. This openness has left Kenya's domestic prices vulnerable to the effects of exchange rate fluctuations. One of the objectives of the Central Bank of Kenya is to maintain inflation levels at sustainable levels. Thus it has become necessary to determine the influence that exchange rate changes have on domestic prices given that one of the major determinants of inflation is exchange rate movements. For this reason, this thesis examines the magnitude and speed of exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) to domestic prices in Kenya. In addition, it takes into account the direction and size of changes in the exchange rates to determine whether the exchange rate fluctuations are symmetric or asymmetric. The thesis uses quarterly data ranging from 1993:Ql - 2008:Q4 as it takes into account the period when the process of liberalization occurred. The empirical estimation was done in two stages. The first stage was estimated using the Johansen (1991) and (1995) co integration techniques and a vector error correction model (VECM). The second stage entailed estimating the impulse response and variance decomposition functions as well as conducting block exogeneity Wald tests. In determining the asymmetric aspect of the analysis, the study followed Pollard and Coughlin (2004) and Webber (2000) frameworks in analysing asymmetry with respect to appreciation and depreciation and large and small changes in the exchange rate to import prices. The results obtained showed that ERPT to Kenya is incomplete but relatively low at about 36 percent in the long run. In terms of asymmetry, the results showed that ERPT is found to be higher in periods of appreciation than depreciation. This is in support of market share and binding quantity constraints theory. In relation to size changes, the results show that size changes have no significant impact on ERPT in Kenya.

Submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Doctorate degree in Technology, Department of Public Management and Economics, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Identifying the best level of debt financing within corporations and its determinants is one of the main issues in financial management theory, as the use of debt is believed to have an important influence on the performance of corporations. The majority of studies on debt financing have been undertaken using data from developed economies, focusing more on private sector non-financial corporations. This study investigated the factors influencing debt financing and whether the use of debt positively or negatively influences the financial performance of state corporations in Kenya. The “financial leverage”, which is the proportion of debt financing of state corporations in the Kenyan region, based on the total debt and the total assets, was the object of analysis for the period 2007 to 2011. Applying both descriptive and inferential statistics, and a hybrid of cross sectional and longitudinal quantitative surveys, primary data from questionnaires, and secondary data from the corporations’ financial statements, were utilized. The sample size used was 50 income generating state corporations in Kenya. Using the primary and secondary data, the study, in addition, determined the extent of debt financing and analysed the different types of debt financing used by the various state corporations. It focused on the use of financial ratio analysis to identify the financial performance of the corporations by applying a pooling of cross-section analysis. Moreover, the “financial leverage” ratio was analysed in correlation with the financial performance ratios, in order to identify the potential of anticipation for future financing options for state corporations in Kenya. Further, the regression analysis result was used to demonstrate whether there is a relationship between the corporation’s “financial leverage” and its financial performance ratios and the debt financing theory suitable for explaining debt capital structure within the state corporations. The panel data for financial performance helped in identifying whether there was a significant relationship between “financial leverage” of corporations and their financial performance. The results identified the main factors influencing debt financing within state-owned corporations in Kenya to include profitability, asset tangibility and corporation growth. It was also determined that debt financing is inversely related to financial performance of state-owned corporations in Kenya. In addition, the results revealed that state-owned corporations from developed and developing economies use capital market debt securities, such as bonds and notes, and derivative financial instruments, such as swaps, options and forward contracts. In contrast, these types of debt are not common within the Kenyan state-owned corporations. The developed and developing economies state-owned corporations are perceived to have embraced the new public sector financial management reforms agenda and operate in more developed and efficient capital markets. However, in Kenya, the new public sector financial management agenda may have not been implemented positively within the state-owned corporations and the country’s capital market may still be efficient. It is expected that the findings of this study would have vital policy implications for Kenyan state-owned corporations, in particular, and the government, in general.

Certain aspects of livestock production and social organization in a group of East African nomadic pastoralists, the Ngisonyoka Turkana in Northwest Kenya, are studied. The main topics are the position of small stock (goats and sheep) in the population and production characteristics of the multi-species (goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys) herds, livestock ownership and management with a focus on women and small stock, and the activities and morphology of the Turkana household as an integrated livestock enterprise. Four nomadic Ngisonyoka households were followed throughout fifteen months in 1980-81, and formed the basis for intensive quantitative and qualitative data collection. Field research took place during a period of drought followed by heavy rains, and enemy-raiding activity, which allowed documentation of the effects of very stressful conditions on household herds and food production. Data on herd dynamics demonstrate an adaptive value to herdowners of maintaining large, multi-species herds in variable and hazard-filled pastoral environments. Many animals of all species died, but the species were affected diferently: e.g., small stock succumbed most readily to, but recovered most quickly from, the drought. Similarly, analysis of the production of food from the herds (milk, blood, meat, and, indirectly, purchased maizemeal) shows that no species can be singled out as most critical; rather, they all contribute in essential ways. For example, small-stock milk is not as quantitatively important overall as camel milk; nevertheless small stock are important milk producers, especially at certain times of the year. The Turkana awi is identified as a household on the basis of its activities, and the morphology and activities of the four study awis are discussed in detail. Emphasis is on the interrelationships between morphology and activities and the nomadic pastoral adaptation. Analysis of women's roles in the livestock production system focuses on relationships between human sex roles in management and labor and livestock species differences. Contrary to the apparent situation in some pastoral groups, Turkana women are not more involved with small stock than with large stock husbandry. Small stock and large stock are equally the concern of pastoral Turkana of all sexes and ages.