Kenya

Kenya A Nation with Multi Culture. These are the abnormalities that characterize Kenya's politics of transition to democracy. This discussion unravels the challenges to Kenya's participatory democracy. The discussion seeks to fill out what went wrong with the project to bring 'democracy and participation' to Kenya. The paper is based on the fi of a detailed assessment of Kenya's compliance with standards adopted by African states regarding democracy, elections and popular participation in government. The paper discusses the key issues raised in the main report, and identify the key challenges to popular participation in the governance of the Kenyan society. The discussion notes that the 2010 constitution has addressed some of the obstacles that prevent consolidation of democratic gains. It has established two levels of government: national and county government. It requires that appointments to public office reflect the face of Kenya. County governments are given resources to undertake development in their areas. The powers of the president have also been reduced; the president cannot make appointments without the approval of Parliament. The constitution has secured the independence of the judiciary and Parliament and, therefore, the executive cannot compel them to tend to its interests. To ensure that these gains are not reversed, the paper recommends strong oversight by civil society groups and the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), among others