subject: Kenya's Political Evolution [print this page] Kenya's Political Evolution Kenya's Political Evolution
Development is an important aspect in every country, it leads to better lives. Kenya has been trying to attain its development but unfortunately several factors have been its draw back. Ever since independence every president has been promising a better Kenya though their regimes have been marked with cases of corruption. HIV is also a threat to the development of the country since the government spends a lot in it. The power which the western countries still exercise on Kenyans before and even after independence is also a contributing factor to the underdevelopment in the country. Fortunately, all is not lost for Kenya there is still hope of reformation that can take the country to greater heights of development. Cutting downer foreign aid, dealing with corrupt leaders, further campaigns against the AIDS pandemic are just but a few of the measures that the country can take into consideration.
Kenya's Political Evolution
Kenya attained its independence in 1963 having its first president as Jomo Kenyatta. He led Kenyans as the president since independence until 1978 when he died and Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi took over from him. After independence the parliament amended the constitution making Kenya a one party nation until 1992 when the constitution was amended again to allow for multiparty democracy. President Moi's leadership was characterized by internal and external pressures. There was rigging of elections in1992 which brought several fights especially tribal clashes in the country though finally Moi was able to retain his seat. Due to opposition of KANU, the 1997 elections were still characterized by fights which reflected the wishes of the majority who were tired with the KANU government. In 2002 election, president Kibaki from the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), won and became the third president. He took office promising Kenyans better governance and fight against corruption. People were so happy to try change in leadership after they had been led for 24 years by the former president. Mwai Kibaki then defeated his opponent Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of the first president of Kenya, who then was the chairman of KANU. Although NARC took office as a coalition of different political parties, a fall out ensued due to power struggle and politicians who were against Kibaki's government formed Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). In 2007, ODM field their candidate Raila Odinga for presidency. There were lots of rigging of elections and this brought about post election violence resulting in more than one thousand deaths. Mwai Kibaki was reelected for presidency and this catalyzed the fights until the UN had to come in between to stabilize the situation. A power sharing system was put in place; a prime minister's position was created to be filled by Raila Odinga. Politically, Kenya is down and this has affected its development though there are measures which can help it climb the ladder (CIA FACTS, 2009).
Factors Hindering Kenya's Development
HIV AIDS
It affects both the economy of the country and the population in general. It was termed as the national disaster in 1999. It has affected labor force, especially in the 1990's. The country's estimation of those who had died from HIV was one half a million and about 2.5 million adults were infected which contributes to fall in the population. The education sector is also affected since more funds are geared towards hospital bills and many children are left as orphans so schooling is a problem.
Post election violence and tribal clashes
After the recent elections and even others in the past, people have been left to live in IDPs, therefore the government is forced to spend more in order to cater for their needs. Those infected with HIV AIDS have also suffered from displacement, so they are unable to access treatment as before resulting in several deaths. The UNAIDS Country Coordinator said that although the government was allowing the displaced to carry antiretroviral drugs with them, many left them because they were in a hurry. The prevalence rate has come down from 6.1 % in 2005 from 10 % which was the rate in the 1990's. The violence in the country has also forced women and young girls to engage in commercial sex for survival (Medical News, 2008).
Over population
There is a high growth in population which results in land fragmentation. Apart from this, land inheritance is common in Kenya resulting in idleness among the sons who only wait to inherit lands. With the increase in population due to lack of family planning by the majority, there is more fragmentation of land (Mwaura, 2005, p. 107).When land is too small to till most people end up going to the cities where they crowd and more crimes occur Kenya has then always found itself relying on western aid due to food crisis. Increased population again constrains government facilities like educational facilities thus leading to inefficiency and poor quality of education (Mwaura, 2005, p. 109). Kenyan leaders inherited economic problems from them the colonialists and have never stopped. Currently due to fight for power the country lost many people. This led to the intervention of International Criminal Court (ICC). Mrs. Clinton in her visit to Kenya confirmed the fact that the US government was not going to interfere with the running of Kenyan government though it would not allow corrupt leaders to continue in its corruption. It emphasized the fact that the government should continue fighting for reforms (Muindi et al. 2005).
Politics
Politics ever since the time of colonization has also played a role in the underdevelopment of Kenya. It is one of the leading factors of underdevelopment in all the third world countries (Calvert et al, 2007). The colonialists had taken large and fertile parts of the Kenyan land and this led to fights for independence. Currently as a result of fight for power the country lost many people. This led to the intervention of International Criminal Court (ICC). Mrs. Clinton in her visit to Kenya confirmed the fact that the US government was not going to interfere with the running of Kenyan government though it would not allow corrupt leaders to continue in its corruption. It emphasized the fact that the government should continue fighting for reforms (Muindi et al. 2005).
Moi's regime had dragged the country economically. The present government is so no better it is divided especially due to corruption. In the current president's regime it is estimated that the corruption has cost the country $ 1bilion. This is so devastating to the government's budget. The allegations are directed to the president and his cabinet that are said to be power hungered. Sir Edward Clay during his visit to Kenya voiced out the fact that the Kenyan leaders were squandering the government funds and so the foreign aid was going to be stopped. This was emphasized by the US and German government. In addition, Japan threatened to withdraw its support to Kenya if it was not going to deal with its issues as a government. There are leaders that have resigned from work arguing that they would not continue serving in search a corrupt government. (Phombeah, 2005).
Neocolonialism
The whites still control the economy of Kenya. In the tourism sector, most of the profits go to them. Yet the few who get to enjoy this money probably are the waiters or house keepers. In addition, when the tourists come to Kenya, they usually occupy the high class hotels. Examples of these hotels are Hilton and Norfolk which are owned by foreign business men. In fact 80% of Kenya's profits are enjoyed by the west (Mwaura, 2005. The tourism industry has led to degradation of culture and the high spread of HIV and Aids. This is because foreigners are not strictly restricted to enter into the country.
The Division of Labor
Another reason for slow development in Kenya is the division of labor by the foreign bodies. Kenyans just like other developing nations do odd jobs like most of them are farmers or artisans. Foreigners from other countries like Japan or America take their produce and process it after which the end results are sold back to them expensively. This is true though there are a number of industries in the country, but due to insufficient skill most Kenyans do not go for Kenyan made items. Some people have also believed that foreign made items are better than their own (Mwaura, 2005, p. 35).Thestructures in the field of economy in Kenya are still under the control of its former colonists. Kenya is normally encouraged to invest in cash crops yet the foreign countries y themat alower price yet the country suffers a lot from lack of enough food. Unfortunately, the same foreigners sell back readily manufactured products at higher prices. The western aid again has been used in Kenya as a way of reaching out to the raw materials in the country. For instance the time Kenya brought into the market disease resistant Ruiru II coffee the west put in place campaigns against it. This was a threat to their agricultural chemical market (Mwaura, 2005, p.78).
