Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0208/02086.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 36KB | 577 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02086}
$Pretitle{256}
$Title{Kenya
Chapter 4A.   Government and Politics}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Donald P. Whitaker}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{government
assembly
president
national
kenya
members
councils
constitution
local
ministers}
$Date{1983}
$Log{Kenyatta Statue*0208601.scf
Figure 14.*0208602.scf
Figure 15.*0208604.scf
}
Country:     Kenya
Book:        Kenya, A Country Study
Author:      Donald P. Whitaker
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1983

Chapter 4A.   Government and Politics

[See Kenyatta Statue: in City Square, Nairobi]

     After two decades of independence, it could plausibly be asserted that
Kenya had established one of the most stable governments among the former
colonial territories of Africa. Substantial changes in the political system
have been effected by orderly processes. In 1964, one year after Kenya
obtained full sovereignty, the form of government was converted from a
federation under a British monarch to a republic under a president. The
National Assembly, originally organized as two houses, became a unicameral
body by constitutional amendment in 1966. Election of the president by the
assembly was superseded by a system of direct popular election in 1969. The
primacy of a single political party, the Kenya African National Union, was
formalized in 1982 when Kenya became a de jure one-party state.

     The pronounced democratic features of Kenya's original constitution have
been generally respected, although important lapses have occurred. The rule
of law has prevailed in daily life, and the judicial system has preserved its
independence. Politics have been dominated by the overwhelmingly preponderant
African segment of the population, but participation of European and Asian
citizens has been accepted. Tolerance for dissenting views is not deeply
entrenched, although public life is marked by animation and debate. The
practice, during periods of tension, of prohibiting opposition figures against
engaging in politics and detaining them for remarks or conduct judged to be
subversive, has discouraged frankness and nonconformity.

     The president of Kenya is the personification of the state and the
preeminent source of national authority. He prescribes all laws, which are
approved as presented, in most cases, by the National Assembly. Various
political tendencies are represented to a certain extent within the
monolithic single-party structure. The practice of approving several
candidates to compete against one another in a single constituency offers
the voters a democratic choice of who will best defend their interests in
Nairobi. On one occasion an opposition movement, the Kenya People's
Union, formed by defectors from the government party, banded together in the
legislature to challenge the government. The government's repressive attitude
toward this challenge from the political left culminated in the banning
of the opposition group in 1969.

     Jomo Kenyatta, a hero of the independence movement and Kenya's first
president, died in 1978 and was succeeded through proper constitutional means
by his vice president, Daniel arap Moi. The new president launched a highly
popular program of economic relief and an easing of constraints in public
life. However, concerned that relatively isolated acts of dissent could
broaden and unleash serious demonstrations of discontent at a time when Kenya
was facing unprecedented economic adversity, Moi gradually reversed his
course. The air force coup attempt of August 1982, although quickly
suppressed, revealed evidence of widespread social tension. The accepted
scope of political debate was further narrowed as Moi sought to reinforce
his authority over the governmental establishment. Amid allegations of plots
and disloyalty in his own cabinet, Moi unexpectedly called an early election
for September 1983. A new stage in Kenyan politics was expected to follow in
which political notables of the 1970s would be supplanted by a group having
closer personal identification with Moi. The opportunity seemed at hand to
introduce a more cohesive and vigorous leadership style in the pursuit of
Kenya's great promise as a nation.

Constitutional Development

     Kenya became an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations on
December 12, 1963. The independence constitution had its origins in a
conference held in London in early 1962. At that time, the country was still
administered as a colony under a governor general appointed by the British
monarch. Legislative and executive councils, chosen to represent Africans,
Europeans, and Asians separately, had only advisory powers (see Development
of the Independence Constitution, ch. 1).

     An unusually detailed document of over 200 pages, the independence
constitution conferred a system incorporating features of both a unitary and
a federalist state. It called for retention of the queen of England as head
of state, represented in Kenya by a governor general. The prime minister
headed a cabinet that was collectively responsible to the National Assembly,
a body composed of two chambers: the House of Representatives, where real
power lay, and the Senate, which could delay legislation. Each of the regions
had an elected assembly empowered to legislate over a range of matters, such
as education, health, agriculture, part of the police forces, and local
government.

     The regional aspects of the independence constitution proved unworkable,
however, because of the opposition of the civil service and the central
government dominated by the Kenya African National Union (KANU). KANU
contended that regional distribution of power was incompatible with efforts
to ensure unity, efficient national planning, and adequate police protection.
After less than a year, KANU introduced proposals to shift to a republican
form of government, to abolish regional powers, and to unify the offices of
the head of state and the head of government. The necessary constitutional
amendments were initially blocked by the Kenya African Democratic Union
(KADU), a minority party, but this obstacle was overcome when KADU merged
with KANU. Thus, by the first anniversary of independence, Kenyatta and
KANU had ushered in a constitutional and political party system conforming
closely to their original objectives (see Party Politics in the 1960s, ch. 1).

     The republican constitution, which was promulgated on December 12, 1964,
was a much shortened document. An amendment in December 1966 combined the
Senate and the House of Representatives in the unicameral National Assembly.
In April 1969 the assembly adopted a revised constitution of 128 sections,
incorporating several new provisions, although it did not bring about major
changes. The 1969 Constitution remained substantially in force in 1983.

     The Constitution may be amended by the passage of an act with not less
than 65 percent of the vote of all members of parliament. A number of
amendments have been brought into effect since 1969, including one permitting
the use of the Swahili language in conducting assembly business, in addition
to English. In 1982 the de facto status of Kenya as a one-party state was
made mandatory by a series of amendments designating KANU as the only
political party and requiring that every candidate for parliament be a member
of KANU and nominated by KANU.

     Thirteen sections of the Constitution, known as the bill of rights,
provide a broad range of protections of fundamental rights and freedoms of
the individual. Personal liberty is guaranteed, and inhuman or degrading
punishment is prohibited. Arbitrary search of the person and entry of private
premises are forbidden. Freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, and
freedom of expression are affirmed, as are the freedoms of assembly and
association, including the right to form labor unions. No one may be
discriminated against on the grounds of ethnicity, place of origin or
residence, political opinion, color, or creed. This provision does n