An analysis of the 2007 general elections in Kenya: a political leadership perspective
- Authors: Wanjiru, Stephanie M
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Elections -- Kenya , Kenya -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8170 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1082 , Elections -- Kenya , Kenya -- Politics and government
- Description: On 27 December, 2007, Kenyan citizens took to the polls for the fourth time since multiparty democracy was introduced in 1992. The sentiment was that democracy was finally coming of age in this East African country. For many, these elections represented a turn in the country’s democratic process that would bring change in the areas of justice, food, shelter, education and employment to all – as these were the main campaign promises. Instead, at the conclusion of the voting and at the beginning of the tallying process, the electorate erupted violently at the suspicion and eventual reporting of the process being rigged. One of the main subjects discussed in this study includes the argument that Kenya is ailing from a lack of responsible political leadership. The breed of Kenyan politicians that have been experienced in the country since it gained its independence from British colonialists in 1963, have plundered its resources – material and human – to the brink of war. It is no longer a valid argument that Africa, just because of a history of governments looting and plundering the vast resources that belong to the world’s poorest of the poor, in particular Kenya produces bad leaders. The second topic of discussion in this study questions the role of ethnic mobilisation during the elections. It is well documented by authors such as Cowen and Kanyinga (in Cowen and Laakso (eds.) 2002: 128-171) that ethnicity in Kenya, under the machinations of irresponsible political leaders, has in the past played a critical part in rallying one political party against another. The 2007 General Election was no different. The contested presidential election results were announced on 30 December, 2007, declaring another term of office for the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki. Since that announcement, thousands of people were reported dead while hundreds of thousands were considered displaced. The chaos was followed by a long mediation process kicked off with the AU chairman, John Kufuor, president of Ghana, hosting a number of talks between the two parties. However, this did not bear much fruit as the two conflicting parties could not agree on the main issue of the creation of a position of Prime Minister for Raila Odinga to 7 fill. This was then followed by a more successful mediation process hosted by the Elders1 including former United Nations (UN) secretary general, Kofi Annan, Graça Maçhel and Benjamin Mkapa, as indicated by The Daily Nation newspapers throughout the month of January 2008. It is with this background that the study will now turn to the discussion about the context of the research, its objectives, rationale, motivation and the research design
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- Date Issued: 2009
Colonial policies and the failure of Somali secessionism in the Northern frontier district of Kenya colony, c.1890-1968
- Authors: Abdullahi, Abdirashid
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Somalis -- Kenya -- History , Kenya -- History -- 1963- , Kenya -- Politics and government , Decolonization -- Kenya -- History -- 20th century , Kenya -- History -- To 1963
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2532 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002384 , Somalis -- Kenya -- History , Kenya -- History -- 1963- , Kenya -- Politics and government , Decolonization -- Kenya -- History -- 20th century , Kenya -- History -- To 1963
- Description: This thesis examines the events that took plac,e. in the Northern Frontier District I North Eastern Province of Kenya hetween the late nineteenth century and 1968. After 1900 the imposition of colonial policies impacted on the socio-economic and political structures of the Somali people. This thesis also examines the nature of Somali resistance l\P- to the late 1920s when Somali society was finally pacified. It further examines colonial policies such as the creation of the Somali-Galla line in 1919, the separation of the J uhaland region from the Kenya Colony in 1926 and the Special District Ordinance of 1934. Between 1946 and 1948 the British Government through its Foreign Minister, Ernest Bevin, attempted to unify Somali territories in the Horn of Africa and this raised Somali hopes of uni fication. The Bevin Plan collapsed because of the opposition of the United States, the Soviet Union, the French and Ethiopian leaders. Similar hopes of NFD Somali unification were raised hetween 1958 and 1963 because of the unification of the former British Somali land and Italian Somaliland. Due to the imminent end of British colonial rule in Kenya, the NFD Somali leaders demanded secession from Kenya to join up with the nascent Somali republic. But the NFDSomali hopes of unification with the Somali Repuhlic were dashed by 1964 because of the same opposition provided by the United States, the French and the Ethiopians. The British Government were all along half-hearted towards Somali unification attempts even though the field administrators adopted a pro-Somali attitude to the issue. In the early 1960s, however, the NFD Somali leaders were faced with the additional opposition of the new KANU government in Kenya. In 1964 the failure of the NFD Somalis to secede from Kenya led to the guerrilla war, what the Kenyan government called the 'shifta movement', that engulfed the North Eastern Region until 1968 when the Arusha Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Kenyan and the Somali Governments. The signing of the Arusha Memorandum of Understanding by the Kenyan and Somali Governments did not satisfy· the NFD Somalis hopes of joining the Somali Republic. The main conclusion of this thesis is that the N FD Somalis, except for few collahorators, did at no time, whether in the colonial or post-colonial eras, accept heing in Kenya. By the late 1960s the prospects of NFD Somalis unifying with the Somali Republic were, in view of the forces arrayed against the Somali secessionist movement, slim; and they have remained slim since then.
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- Date Issued: 1998
A critical analysis of ethnic conflict in Kenya : the politicisation of ethnicity in Kenya subsequent to the 2007 elections
- Authors: Daweti, Siyabulela
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Ethnic conflict -- Kenya , Kenya -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8345 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020780
- Description: This study examines the interface between Kenyan politics and ethnicity. More specifically it examines why ethnicity is at the core of Kenyan politics. Although this study discusses how colonialism influenced the ethnicisation of African politics, it focuses more on the era of post-colonial politics. The objective of the study is to investigate how post-colonial Kenyan leaders have shaped the content of Kenyan politics. This study explores ethnic conflicts in Kenya, more especially the 2008 conflict. In order to provide a clear framework for the analysis of Kenyan society, Zambian politics and its social dynamics were also examined in this study. In terms of political development and other variables, one could describe Zambia as Kenya’s peer. It is, therefore, an ideal country against which to evaluate Kenya. In terms research methodology, this study has taken a descriptive and an explanatory approach. Thematic and content analysis has also been employed as data analysis methods. This study has established that the manner in which Kenyan politics are organised is centred on ethnicity. The study found that Kenya’s unique political and social components have predisposed Kenya to ethnic conflicts. For example, a political future within Kenyan political parties and in public office is heavily influenced by one’s ethnicity. Ethnicity also plays a role in the nature of political coalitions. As a solution to the Kenyan problem, this author has recommended that Kenya’s politics (and political campaigns) be based on issues related to the development of Kenyan society, rather than ethnicity. Those in public office should also elevate national identity above ethnic identity.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Effectiveness in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for reforms at programme level with some emphasis on involvement of stakeholders
- Authors: Ondego, Rinah Talu
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Kenya -- Politics and government , Kenyan -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9059 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1403 , Kenya -- Politics and government , Kenyan -- Economic conditions
- Description: Kenya's Vision 2030 is a long-term development strategy for the country. The ultimate goal and mandate for all pillars of governance to adhere too. The bible for every man, woman and child, who call this nation its home. The aim of is to create "A globally competitive and prosperous country with a high quality of life by the year 2030, transforming Kenya into a newly-industrializing middle-income country, providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in all its citizens in a clean and secure environment" (Kenya Vision 2030) Implementation of the vision will be through medium-term plans of five year cycles. The vehicle the Government has chosen is Results Based Management. Results-Based Management (RBM) was introduced in Kenya in 2003 by the NARC Government. Several initiatives have been undertaken to institutionalize RBM in all MDAs. Due to this, there is a tremendous paradigm shift from processes to results. However, the systems in place have not only no clear guidelines of engaging stakeholders but also M&E systems in place measure only the outcomes and not how these outcomes were achieved. Thus making reporting ‘Results for Kenyans’ a tedious exercise. This study examined the impact of stakeholder engagement and the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluating in the achievement of Vision 2030. The study was conducted at the Public Service Transformation Department (PSTD). Stratified sampling was used to draw a sample of 30 government officers, and four key informants based on their departments and accountabilities. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected using structured questionnaires, interview guides and direct observation. Quantitative data was then analyzed using SPSS and presented by way of frequency distribution tables, percentages, graphs, and models. Qualitative data was collated and presented in narrative form. The study found out there is similarities in both M&E and Stakeholder Engagement in there are systems in place. Both have established systems at the National level, (NIMES) for M&E and Public Private Partnerships there was none at the institutional level. Many of indicators for M&E are set at the top and imposed on the operational staff. Key informant interviews revealed that the existing system was not sustainable and would be an ideal point for entry of distortion and strategy dysfunction. Stakeholder Engagement has no policy or legislative framework to work from thus making the exercise look like a publicity stunt whenever Government seeks a consultative process especially when it comes to the ordinary "Mwananchi" (Swahili word for citizens/people). The study has established an urgent need to develop an institutional M&E system for tracking, measuring, evaluating and reporting the progress of results for Kenyans, a framework and policy to be created to encompass all manner of stakeholder engagement not only engagement with the private sector. This would make it easier on both the Institution that houses reform (PSTD) and the Central Government not only to gage how far or how near the country is attaining its ultimate goal of Vision 2030 but also reporting back and engagement with its stakeholders will be much easier, less tedious it would became "business as usual" thus creating accountability and transparency resulting in winning the war on Corruption.
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- Date Issued: 2010
Consolidation of democracy and political culture: an analysis of young elites and the media, the case of Kenya
- Authors: Nzioki, Samuel Mutinda
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Democracy -- Kenya , Political culture -- Kenya , Kenya -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8248 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/586 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011680 , Democracy -- Kenya , Political culture -- Kenya , Kenya -- Politics and government
- Description: Democratisation and commitments to transitions to democratic systems has gained momentum as a currency, a necessity, with regard to socio-political and economic development for Africa. In the period following the end of the Cold War in the late 1980’s, there was heightened concern over the pseudo-democratic political establishments in Africa whose negative impact on their economies was blameable for a marked lack of public goods. Political scholars and agencies of Industrialised countries attributed this to stagnation on democratisation process, where consolidation stage of African democracies remains elusive. Kenya is a case and point. This study seeks to contribute to the ensuing debate of crafting versus preconditions to democratic consolidation in Africa. It takes the position that it is the political elite who are the principal agents in designing institution based democracies upon which other socio-economic developments can stand. By focusing on Kenya the study seeks to show that, up to the present moment, the cycle of Kenya’s unconsolidated democracy has been prevailed over by elites’ weakness to commit to deepening democratic values. A sign of hope is therefore in the potential and promise in the emerging young elite in crafting a consolidated democracy in Africa. By focussing on a generational change in leadership, one sees the possibility for Africa to embark on a clearly mapped out and self designed path towards democratic consolidation, led by a younger generation of professional elites. These are not weighed down by postcolonial nationalistic ideals. Their potential and level of commitment to democratic consolidation however needs to be examined. Increased pressures of Westernisation as an after effect of globalisation may have altered/impacted the young elites’ political consciousness and dedication to the African locales. This study thus posits that in order to gauge their inclination to crafting a consolidated democratic landscape of the continent, their political culture must be put under scrutiny. By examining the political culture of the Kenyan young elite this study concluded that more needs to be done to inspire political participation and involvement in this generation. There is general feeling of contentment with the status quo with all its flaws and unchanging poor democratic practises. More has to be done to sever the old undemocratic mentalities and replace them with fresh ideals through wide spread civic education, by using effective instruments like the media and avenues like a reformed school curriculum.
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- Date Issued: 2007