In many respects, Kenya is a pacesetter. The repeal of section 2 A of the constitution in the 1990s was celebrated throughout East Africa.
Across in Tanzania and in Uganda, the citizenry may still be stuck in near single party democracies of the sort Kenneth Kaunda championed when UNIP propagated humanism in Zambia. In Tanzania, the indomitable CCM still wins elections with mind boggling margins.
In Uganda, the NRM is at the top of things until President Museveni lets go. In Kenya, Kanu is as good as dead. The other day, Uhuru Kenyatta, its leader, discovered a camaraderie with “like minded” politicians — two of them from ODM (and not exactly in there), and the other from ODM-Kenya (or is it PNU?).
At party nominations, except for a few cases, belonging to a political party in Kenya determines whether you are elected. So, why the change of heart about party loyalty once these leaders rise to the national arena?
The answer has something to do with personality cults, flavoured by raw ethnicity. The party, around which the people’s aspirations were wrapped is trashed. In strong democracies, however, political parties bear ideologies at their core. People choose if they want to be associated with them. The party and the government are separate. President Obama, for example, is not at the top of the Democratic party.
In Kenya, a look at the ministerial appointments reveals a trend in which a party leader also has a superior docket in government. If this replays into 2010 through to 2011, there will be no end to the popping up of “strategic” alliances between political parties (ethnic groups, really), the closer we get to 2012. Political parties must be made to bear strongly in our politics.
OGONE J. OBIERO,
Leipzig, Germany
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