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KENYA ELECTION – change, whichever way Kenya votes

8th August 2022/0 Comments/in News /by Hywel George

Change, whichever way Kenya votes

The current regime in Kenya is the first elected under the new constitution. It’s the first to govern under the new devolved power-system. But as the curtain falls on the Uhuru years change is once again in the air, writes Eric Kimori.

President Kenyatta has completed his two five-year terms, as have most of the county Governors. Under the constitution they cannot run again. So Kenya is poised for change at both national and county levels.

‘Freedom is coming’ is the rallying cry of the Kenya Kwanza coalition led by Deputy President William Ruto.

Mr Ruto’s campaign has focused on mobilizing the young and women.

Through his ‘Bottom-up’ manifesto he is promising a radical shift from trickle-down economics.

He’s drawing crowds of hopeful young and women wherever he goes.

He’s plagued by an association with corruption. But Mr Ruto is a flamboyant mobilizer, endowed with the ‘gift of the gab’.

His eloquence is not matched by closest rival Raila Odina. Political pundits and analysts claim it is the reason Mr Odinga skipped the national televised presidential debate a fortnight ago.

‘Inawezekana’ – translated to mean ‘it’s possible’ – is the battle-cry of Odinga’s fifth stab at the presidency.

He’s is riding on his track record of democratic and political reform that he has been championing.

If Odinga wins, his running mate, Martha Karua will become Kenya’s first female deputy president.

She is thought to be the energy behind Odinga’s recent surge in support.

Their manifesto addresses social reform. The most talked about intervention is an economic stimulus targeting families living below the poverty line.

Mr Odinga proposes a cash transfer programme of Kes 6,000 (about 60 USD) for poor families in a bid to spur economic growth in hard-hit regions of Kenya.

The two remaining contenders, Prof George Wajackoya of Roots Party, and church leader Waihiga Mwaure of Agano Party, are seen as non-starters, not expected to marshal a combined 1% of the total votes.

So which way Kenya? Either road leads to change.

But as the saying goes, ‘The more things change the more they stay the same’.

Odinga is running for a fifth time – his face is not new to Kenyan politics. He is a former Prime Minister.

Ruto has been deputy president for the last 10 years.

One of these two will become Kenya’s fifth president.

As the national debate, so too the counties. Most of the leading contenders for governor are deputy governors seeking to inherit governor posts from retiring bosses.

Whichever way Kenya votes, change is in the air!

EK 8/8/22

KENYA ELECTION – devolve, involve, solve

7th August 2022/0 Comments/in News /by Hywel George

devolve, involve, solve

At a rally, for Kilifi governor candidate Gideon Mung’aro, I was struck by the excitement and enthusiasm of the locals – despite the headline speaker showing-up over an hour late.

We were travelling with a lady called Saida, who represented the IEBC as a voter-educator.

So, I asked her if there had always been a passion for politics in Kenya.

“Since the constitutional reforms of 2010,” she said, “devolution has meant that people feel more involved.

“Most people know somebody personally who is involved in local politics”.

Saida

The new constitution of Kenya replaced the one penned in 1963, when the country won independence from British Colonial rule.

The changes in 2010 were defined by power devolved from central government to county government level. This brought greater financial autonomy.

Before the reforms people felt remote from the ruling classes and unable to influence the political discourse. This led to indifference in the population, particularly in rural areas.

Following the establishment of assemblies in each of the 47 counties of Kenya, with each county containing wards which elect Members (MCAs), power seemed to get closer to the people.

The distribution of the county budget is now in the hands of local people answering to their friends and neighbours as constituents.

County development plans are also debated locally, by MCAs who are accessible, approachable, and communicate issues which affect people in their local community.

Representation was also expanded with the introduction of County Women’s Representatives. From 2010, each county elects a Women’s Representative to sit in the national parliament. These representatives are provided with funding for their county which they can allocate for the needs of women, and other minority groups.

“People feel as though their voices are heard much more”, Saida said.

Disaffected voters have been re-engaged. People are finding interest in party and national politics.

And the proof is in the pudding – In 2007, prior to the reforms, voter turnout for the presidential election was 69%. By 2013 this had jumped to over 85%. From what we’ve seen of the enthusiasm and commitment of people attending the rallies, the high figures are not surprising.

People now feel listened to. An engaged public means an active public and now everyday Kenyans feel they have something to gain for their families and their community by involving themselves in the political process.

GH 05/07/22

KENYA ELECTION – political hash, or hash-politics

6th August 2022/0 Comments/in News /by Hywel George

Political Hash, or Hash-Politics

Waiting for an Azimio Party campaign rally to start on a football field, in the forest near Tezo, we were struck by the number of men openly smoking cannabis – or ‘bhang’ as the Kenyans call it.

Tezo

Throughout the afternoon we watched a dealer distributing small brown paper bags he would retrieve from a nearby bush.

The country’s history and attitude towards the drug has been mixed.

Cultivation, harvesting and use of cannabis has gone-on for centuries – a history rooted in spiritual, religious, medicinal and recreational practices.

British Colonial rule outlawed the crop with the introduction of the Abuse of Opiates Prevention Ordinance of 1913 – a legal position that remains, despite independence being won in 1963.

To cultivate, possess or consume cannabis brings the threat of lengthy prison sentences and harsh fines – indeed Kenya has even outlawed the smoking of tobacco in public.

KBC

Onto this stage steps presidential wild-card candidate George Wajackoyah.

Dressed in a black tracksuit and wearing a ‘durag’, the Roots Party hopeful campaigns almost exclusively on a policy of cannabis legalisation.

It is not, however, his only controversial position.

Other plans to settle Kenya’s burgeoning £58-billion include the export of hyena testicles.

He also aims to put corrupt officials to death – but not before “eating some ugali”.

His campaign for the presidency is ruffling some feathers, from the political establishment, but also from the Kenyan Catholic Church. Controversy that Wajackoyah welcomes.

And he’s lit a fire under the campaigns of both the main presidential candidates. – despite only polling at 2.9%. The election is likely to be quite a close-run affair and both the main parties are concerned about losing votes to Wajackoyah.

According to our Tezo guide and ex-local government chief Lennox, his policies speak to Kenyans, disaffected with government and the political process overall.

The legalisation of bhang, tackling corruption and his own personal firebrand style have gained him significant support, particularly amongst young men like the ones we met in Tezo.

While polls indicate current Deputy President William Ruto or former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will be next President, Wajackoyah’s campaign has raised hopes of radical change in the country – but maybe in the years to come.

O.S. 03/08/22

KENYA ELECTION – change, whichever way Kenya votes