A fragmented opposition proved no match, in 1992, for a state-sponsored political machine that had become synonymous with the Government; its roots so deep a whole generation could not imagine life under another political system. Hope finally bore fruit in 2002 when the opposition consolidated itself, aided by two main factors: President Moi had not groomed a successor, and he had served the maximum number of terms permitted in law.  

Since 1992 the political landscape had been characterized by multiple defections with politicians jumping ship whenever they smelt opportunity. Tribal and regional affiliation preceded nationalism and statehood. The heroes of independence -- who knew no color, tribe, or region and had stood and fought together for Kenya -- we now consigned to penury and History. The rise of politically motivated murders -- beginning with Pio Gama Pinto in 1965 and Tom Mboya  in 1969 -- shattered the fledging democracy, inaugurating tyranny. Nationalism was dealt a final blow when Kenyatta's motorcade was stoned in Nyanza: in reaction, Kenyatta consolidated his power base around a few cronies from Central Kenya.

In her Our Turn to Eat, Michela Wrong tries to capture the workings of Kenya's kinship politics. The carrying theme is politicians' clamor for political power; on a politics of entitlement to dish out the national cake among their kinsmen, rather than nationalist principle. This culture of politicised kinship explains the publicly-tainted characters who continue to stalk the corridors of power unafraid of punishment for their deeds. The ‘insiders' in any Government since independence have proved to wield too much power, enough to melt the will of any well-meaning individual. That is why politicians will go to any length to secure a position in this inner sanctum of power.

The European colonialists, in their endeavor to maximise profits from their colonies, aimed systematically to break the resolve of their subjects. One of the most successful was to create rifts among communities in the conquered lands. The approach was effective even in regions where communities were homogeneous in most respect, save for slight regional variations. A case in point is the Great Lakes region where the Belgians successfully marginalized the majority Hutu in favor of the Tutsi. In Kenya, with a wider array of nations, the British had to convey a multifaceted approach to breaking down resistance from within the nations; the creation of different entitlements inside and outside the different nations was an effective, if temporary, extinguisher of disorder.

In the 60s the Europeans began to relinquish their empires, due mainly to the agitations of an increasingly powerful African nationalism, and the battle fatigue that left many powers unable to muster the resources to run their vast empires. To retain influence in their past possessions, the European powers sought to install leaders who would continue to serve their demands.

Leadership as an institution has no standard specific definition, but one common theme remains: leaders are normally characters of outstanding qualities among their own community. What will qualify an individual in one community might not necessarily do so in a second. But one trend has emerged world wide: leaders have an uncanny ability to accumulate resources that enable them ascend ‘the throne'. This one last quality however makes the quest for leadership in Africa, and more specifically in Kenya, very controversial. Many leaders will deliberately maintain their communities at below subsistence thinking to hold the reins of power. These leaders will always preach how the Government will help or not help -- that's if they are in the opposition. When not bashing each other at public gatherings, our politicians make a mockery of our intelligence: I am yet to hear a leader tell the people that they have to work mainly on their own initiative. Our leaders' inability to stand up for our rights and instead partake in the plunder of our natural resources and coffers through shady deals and passing of laws favourable to their interest lets us wonder what went wrong. I may stand to be challenged on the last observation but I will explain myself. When the country's leaders endorse a culture where nothing meaningful can proceed without their knowledge or influence, a dangerous trend is set, especially where the future development of several thousand souls depends on a few. When people are at what I call subsistence thinking, their dependence level is generally enhanced to such an extent the ability innovate and develop homegrown solutions is non-existent.

Just as we are the food we eat, so also we are a representation of our chosen leaders. Democracy gets tricky. Information and knowledge becomes our key tool as the electorate. How we decipher the information we get is another story. During President Moi's 24-year rule in Kenya, his grip on the information systems enhanced his grip on power. For the longest time, the National Broadcaster VOK, later KBC, was the only source of information for a majority of Kenya. This, coupled with low or non-existent penetration of information to many parts of the country, led many to treat ‘Moi' and ‘President' as synonyms. It took another decade from the liberation of the airwaves for Kenyans to make leadership changes based on new knowledge.

We have not, however, observed a complete change of guard, but rather a change in the uniform the guard wears. We are yet to see a fresh crop of leaders, almost 50 years after independence, and now we begin to see mini-dynastic successions where an MP is succeeded by a son, brother, wife -- no sisters or daughters. Access to the information on which the electorate relies still matters. Much as we have liberalized the airwaves, the resources necessary to muster a campaign remain outside the reach of young aspiring leaders of modest means. The advent and application of the cell phone is the beginning of change in the politics of today.  

Education is not just what we read, rather it is what enables us to make rational decision given what we read, hear or see. Education is meant to open us up to our various opportunities. In the 80s, Kenya converted its education system from 7-6-3 to 8-4-4. Like any system in its infancy it was attended by a myriad of problems; looking back, however, I now see it was a system designed to broaden one's knowledge base as far as possible. One major argument is that it created ‘jacks of all trades but masters of none'. Critics and plaudits will never agree on the significance of the system, but, as a product, I will be the first to admit that I have the confidence to survive and thrive anywhere on earth. An educated self-reliant population is the central necessity of a mature democracy. With the advent of the electronic age -- where ideas can be conveyed to any part of the world in real time -an educated population with access to information and with the resources and motivation to act on that information is within reach.

Kenya still has some ways to go to achieve the nirvana of mature democracy. Parliament, ironically, has to shoot itself in the foot and pass laws that relinquish some of its power to another branch of Government. From Late 19th to the early part of the 20th Century, the old European Powers began their start in modern politics, France with its various republics, Italy with its experimentation with fascism and Germany with Nazism. All these political systems served the purpose of the day; how much progress was made is another story. We observe, however, that these systems, though not perfect, have, through constant evolution, advanced these societies to another level in democracy whereby individuals are elected on ideology and belief rather than ethnic or gender identity.

Closer to home Tanzania also experimented with single party politics, but, unlike Kenya, the early leadership worked to discount ethnic discord and unite its people under a national banner. Further across the pond we have the United States, in which, unlike many countries, immigrants and their descendants compose a majority of the population is. The key point of success in American democracy is the unifying dynamism promoted by the American system. However even in a democracy that has been time tested political flip-flopping, and pettiness still show up from time to time.

It is our God given task to build a Nation that will be derive its strength from its people, the way they stand together, the way they resolve  their differences and speak in one voice, we cannot assume that adopting a system applied in another part of the globe will be our solution. Instead we need to make progress in promoting those bonds that enable us to see the Kenyan in us and not the Kikuyu or Luo. These bonds exist in our athletes, our flag, out national pledge, Our TV idols, our religiousness, our food, our cities, our animals, our beeches, our beers. All those things that we enjoy when our leaders earn their pay in a fair way. All those things that make us say' Najivunia Kuwa Mkenya'.

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