Kenya Democracy and Political Participation A review by AfriMAP, Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nairobi Karuti Kanyinga March 2014 2014 Open Society Foundations This publication is available as a pdf on the Open Society Foundations website or the AfriMAP website under a Creative Commons licence that allows copying and distributing the publication, only in its entirety, as long as it is attributed to the Open Society Foundations and used for non-commercial educational or public policy purposes. Photographs may not be used separately from the publication. Published by: Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa ISBN: 978-1-920677-47-3 For further information, please contact: AfriMAP PO Box 678 Wits, 2050 Johannesburg South Africa www.afrimap.org [email protected] Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa PO Box 2193, 00202, Nairobi, Kenya www.osiea.org [email protected] About the author: Karuti Kanyinga is an Associate Research Professor at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nairobi, Kenya. Karuti holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Roskilde University, Denmark. Design and lay-out by COMPRESS.dsl | www.compressdsl.com Contents List of tables vi List of figures and boxes vii List of abbreviations and acronyms viii Preface xii Foreword xiv Part I Kenya: Democracy and Political Participation Discussion Paper 1 Summary 3 Introduction 5 1 Kenya’s transition to democracy 8 2 Ethnicity and democratic participation 12 3 Citizenship, identity and the politics of belonging 15 4 The electoral system and political parties 19 5 Concentration of power and abuse of the rule of law 21 6 Local self-governance and the devolution of power 24 Conclusion and recommendations 26 Part II Kenya: Democracy and Political Participation Main Report 29 Executive summary 31 A. Introduction 31 B. The socio-political context 31 C. The constitutional framework and citizenship rights 34 D. Public participation 35 E. Electoral reforms 35 F. Political parties 36 G. The legislature 36 H. General conclusion 37 1 Socio-political and historical background 38 2 The constitutional framework and international law 44 A. International instruments 45 B. Domestication of international instruments 50 C. Conclusion and recommendations 69 3 Citizenship and inequalities 72 A. Citizenship and international law 73 B. The constitution and citizenship laws 73 C. Non-discrimination and affirmative action 80 D. Efforts to introduce affirmative action 83 E. The constitution and representation of women 84 F. Protection of persons living with disabilities 90 G. Protection of minorities and marginalised groups 92 H. Immigrants and refugees 95 I. Conclusion and recommendations 96 4 Participation in the policy process 98 A. Freedom of expression and the media 99 B. Media regulation 103 C. Freedom of association 107 D. Access to information 108 E. Civil society’s participation in public policy development 109 F. Conclusion and recommendations 113 5 Elections 115 A. Legal and institutional framework 116 B. Election administration 118 C. Constituency delimitation 119 D. Voter registration and participation 120 E. Voter education 124 F. The electoral system 125 G. Electoral malpractices 128 H. 2007 general elections 134 I. Election observation 136 J. Validity of results 138 K. Election petitions 139 L. The electoral system under the Constitution of Kenya 2010 140 M. Conclusion and recommendations 141 6 Political parties 143 A. Legal framework 145 B. Principal parties contesting for office 149 C. Internal party democracy 155 D. Direct nominations 161 E. Policy development and implementation 163 F. Party financing 164 G. Ethnicity and political parties 169 H. Women’s representation in political parties 175 I. Party competition and the role of the opposition 176 J. Political parties under the constitution 178 K. Conclusion and recommendations 179 7 The legislature 180 A. The legislature in pre-independent Kenya 180 B. The legislature in post-independence Kenya 181 C. Membership, remuneration and support 182 D. Remuneration and support 187 E. Law-making and debate 190 F. Oversight role 193 G. Parliamentary reform 197 H. The role of parliamentary committees 197 I. Public participation in the legislature 201 J. Control and audit of National Assembly finances 205 K. Conclusion and recommendations 206 8 Provincial and local governments 207 A. The Provincial Administration 208 B. Local government institutions 209 C. Relationship between central and local governments 211 D. Local government elections 212 E. Financing of provincial and local governments 213 F. Access to information 214 G. Local government and participatory democracy 214 H. Oversight of provincial and local executives 218 I. The constitution and devolved government 218 J. Conclusion and recommendations 221 9 Traditional authorities 223 A. Pre-colonisation 223 B. The colonial era 224 C. The post-colonial era 224 D. Development of traditional authority 225 E. Traditional authorities and the constitution 226 F. The role of traditional leaders in public life 227 G. Conclusion and recommendations 232 10 Development assistance and democratisation 233 A. Access to information on development assistance 235 B. Trends in development assistance 236 C. Conditions for development assistance 239 D. International aid for democratic development 242 E. Harmonisation of financial resources 244 F. The GJLOS Reform Programme 245 G. Conclusion and recommendations 246 List of tables Table 1 Kenya’s status on international treaties, covenants and charters 45 Table 2 Kenya’s status on African Union treaties, conventions, protocols and charters 48 Table 3 Women in Parliament, 1963–2007 88 Table 4 Women in public office, 2008 88 Table 5 Voter turnout in elections 122 Table 6 Political parties represented in Parliament in 2007 (by end of 2009) 154 Table 7 Political parties’ representation in various elective posts, 2013 155 Table 8 Campaign income of political parties in the 2007 elections 167 Table 9 Parliamentary seats won by individual parties in the 1992 general elections 171 Table 10 Parliamentary seats won by individuals in the 1997 elections 172 Table 11 Parliamentary seats won by individual parties in the 2002 elections 173 Table 12 Parliamentary seats won by individual parties in the 2002 elections 174 Table 13 Evolution of electoral constituencies, 1963–2007 184 Table 14 Women representation in Parliament315 185 Table 15 National Assembly membership, 1969–2007 186 Table 16 Turnover of members of Parliament, 1963–2007 187 Table 17 Estimates of National Assembly recurrent and development expenditure 205 Table 18 Local government structures 209 Table 19 Nature and authority of councils 210 Table 20 Trends in development assistance, 2004–2011 236 Table 21(a) Country programmable aid (CPA) by sector in US$ million and per cent share, 2008–2011 237 Table 21(b) Country programmable aid (CPA) by sector in per cent share, 2008–2010 237 Table 22 Top ten donors, 2008–2011 (constant 2011 US$ million) 238 Table 23 Composition of aid, 2008–2010 (disbursement in US$ millions) 238 Table 24 Donor fragmentation 239 vi KENYA: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL Participation List of figures and boxes Figure 1 Distribution of bills enacted as acts of Parliament, 2003–2007 191 Figure 2 Government and private members’ bills, 2003–2007 192 Box 1 Agenda I–IV of the KNDR Process 59 Box 2 Violation of media freedom 100 Box 3 Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice 111 Box 4 The gentleman’s agreement ‘in lieu’ of constitutional reforms 127 Box 5 Peace committees in the 2002 elections 134 Box 6 Anglo-Leasing scandal 165 Box 7 Peoples’ representation, pre-election promises and the failure to deliver 190 Box 8 Rejecting presidential appointments 195 Box 9 Public Investments Committee report on the accounts of state corporations (1) 197 Box 10 Brief history of the Parliamentary Budget Committee 200 Box 11 Public Investments Committee report on the accounts of state corporations (2) 200 Box 12 Reducing debts through participatory budgeting 215 Box 13 LASDAP in Korogocho 217 Box 14 Traditional governance and competitive politics 230 KENYA: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL Participation vii List of abbreviations and acronyms ACEDG African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ACHPR African Commission on Human and People’s Rights AEG Aid Effectiveness Group AG Attorney General ALGAK Association of Local Government Authorities of Kenya APRM African Peer Review Mechanism CAJ Commission on Administrative Justice CAPF Coalition for Accountable Political Finance CDF Constituency Development Fund CDSs city development strategies CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination CIC Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution CIPEV Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence CJ Chief Justice CJPC Catholic Justice and Peace Commission CJPC Criminal Justice Policy Coalition CKRC Constitution of Kenya Review Commission CLARION Centre for Law and Research International CMD Centre for Multi-Party Democracy CNU Coalition of National Unity CoE Committee of Experts CORD Coalition for Reform and Democracy CPA country programmable aid CPRW Convention on the Political Rights of Women CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CREAW Centre for Rights, Education and Awareness CRS Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness CRSR Convention