The Role of Tribe on State Management - Kenya a case study

Introduction
a
THE ROLE OF TRIBES IN STATE MANAGEMENT; KENYA,
A CASE STUDY
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of
Arts Degree in Diplomatic Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of London, University
of Westminster, London in September 2009.
By: Josiah Njore Kimani

The Role of Tribes in State Management
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Authorship Statement
Diplomatic Academy of London
University of Westminster
Josiah Njore Kimani
September 2009.
MA Dissertation on: The Role of Tribes in State Management; Kenya, a Case
Study.
I confirm that the above submitted MA Dissertation is my own work and that all
references and sources are fully acknowledged.
J. N. Kimani
Saturday, 29 October 2016

Introduction
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Acknowledgement.................................................................................................................d
Executive Summary............................................................................................................... i
1 Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1
1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK................................ 9
1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................................... 14
1.2.1 Sample Selection .....................................................................................................14
1.2.2 Instrument and Process of Data Collection ................................................................14
1.2.3 Rationale for Primary Research Technique ................................................................16
1.2.4 Rationale for Secondary Research Technique ...........................................................17
1.2.5 Limitations ...............................................................................................................17
1.2.6 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................18
2 CHAPTER 2: STATE MANAGEMENT: THE ROLE OF INCLUSION................19
2.1 Presidency and State Management ..................................................................... 21
2.2 Tribe and Representation in Political Parties..................................................... 23
2.3 Elections and State Management......................................................................... 28
3 Chapter 3: DYNAMICS OF TRIBE AND STATE MANAGEMENT: THE CASE
OF KENYA .............................................................................................................................32
3.1 Historical Overview................................................................................................ 33
3.2 Tribe and Party Politics in Kenya: A Background ............................................. 36
3.3 Primary Data Presentation and Analysis ............................................................ 42
3.4 Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 48
4 Chapter 4: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................50
4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................ 53
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES.............................................................................59
Books..................................................................................................................................59
Articles................................................................................................................................60
Internet Articles....................................................................................................................60
Audio Books ........................................................................................................................62

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Acknowledgement
I would like to first and foremost thank the Almighty God for his care upon my life and
for giving me the strength and ability to achieve my goals in life. I would also like to
thank my father, Reuben, for shaping my life and my mother, Irene, for her patience
during my upbringing. It is these two people to whom I owe my achievements. I
would also like to thank my wife, Ruth, for whom without her understanding, patience,
attention and commitment this endeavour would have been a much greater
challenge. To my supervisor, Professor Nabil Ayad, I owe my gratitude for guidance
and sharpening my vision to propel me to greater heights. To my son, Bryan, thank
you for your charm and attitude that nothing is too big.

Introduction
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ExecutiveSummary
Africa is inhabited by numerous tribes and tribalism is a vice that has gripped many
African nations. This vice is exacerbated by the distinct difference in cultures and
regional origins of the different tribes. Africa has also been plagued by bouts of
violent conflicts which have led to deaths of many, bloodshed, poverty, poor
economic stability and poor development and poor distribution of resources.
Tribe and culture, even though distinct differences between communities cannot in
themselves be causes for the violent conflicts that have gripped the African continent.
The cause lies elsewhere while manifesting hard and fast as tribalism and division in
cultural pluralistic society.
The aim of this study is to show that the cause for state mismanagement, societal
instability, political division, poverty, greed, poor development, poor economies and
poor distribution of resources in a cultural and tribal pluralistic society is as a result of
competition between the different tribes to attain control and unrivalled access to
state machinery in order to empower their own tribes and to lure other tribes in to
supporting their interests by allowing them access to the same resources.
This, the study will show, is the single most venomous attribute that has caused
serious setbacks in African nations for over four decades. This attribute has taken the
form of personalised presidency for full and unrivalled control of resources, political
parties formed for personal gain with little or no attention paid to policies and
governance and elections used to legitimise poor performing regimes either by
coercing the electorate or conducting flawed elections to retain power. All these have
caused emphatic competition amongst elite in order to attain or retain power which

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reduces leadership and governance into a volatile playing field where people’s lives
are continually sacrificed.
The study will conduct an in depth study into Kenya, a country of over 40 tribes and
over 100 political parties which has experienced numerous bouts of violent conflict
during and the campaign, elections. This has caused an explosive situation that has
brought the country into a catastrophic position of poverty, under development, poor
distribution of resources, lack of integrity from the elect, corruption, collapse of the
public sector and many more.
Africa has great development potential, a lot of wealth, large number of capable
intellectuals, and large reserves of natural minerals. However poor governance and
state management strategies caused by divisions between different communities
have reduced the continent in to a beggar and much needs to be done to unite Africa
as a continent in order to tap into its own resources and empower the African people
irrespective of tribe, ethnicity or culture; an achievement requiring a concerted effort
from all the people and especially leaders of Africa.

Introduction
1
1 Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
The second part of the 20th Century witnessed the emergence and proliferation of
newly independent states. The boundaries of most of these states were delineated
by the former colonial powers in an arbitrary manner whereby tribes and ethnic
groups were placated or distributed amongst different countries. These resulted in
endless border disputes and civil wars which plagued the continent for decades. The
aim of this study is to examine the contribution of tribes in state management with
emphasis on Kenya as a case study.
Post independent African states have been the centre of study by many scholars on
issues of state management, conflict, conflict resolution and governance. The topics
of peace, justice, human rights, democracy, economic and political reforms have
been the centre of many research projects mainly by scholars, individuals, authors,
poets, actors and groups from different walks of life, both in and out of Africa, in the
search for a solution to the complex situation presented by African nations. Both
major and minor parties such as Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil
Groups, Social Movements, and for the most part entire grieved communities have all
been a part of the melee, caused by state mismanagement, which seems to raise its
head constantly in many of the independent nations in Africa.
Most or all of these parties, in search of solutions, have shown how gross
mismanagement of nation states by leaders in Africa is the centre of contention
giving rise to conflict (Furley 1995, Dwyer and Drakakis 1996, Oxford Analytica 2008,
Murunga and Nasong’o 2007, Assefa and Wachira 1996, 2003). In 1992 Boutros
Boutros Ghali, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) stated that this was “the

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deepest cause of conflict: economic despair, social injustice and political oppression”
(Furley 1995. p. 4, An Agenda for Peace 1992: p. 823). It is worth noting that some of
the critics of government, notably blaming the government for their lack of proper
management and good governance, have been victims of torture, exile, persecution,
detention and sometimes even murder. Playwrites such as Ngugi Wa Thiongo of
Kenya, Okot P’Bitek of Uganda and the former Kenya Anti Corruption Agency
Director John Githongo of Kenya have all fled their countries to escape persecution
and death threats as a result of critics or in the case of John Githongo, investigating
top government officials for endemic corruption. Others such as university lecturers,
lawyers, church leaders, political leaders, civil servants, businessmen, university
students and other professionals have been victims of persecution in many nations
for openly criticizing or challenging the regime (Daily Nation 21 August 2009).
Through exile, these educated urban refugees provide their expertise to the receiving
nations from skills and experiences they posses. The consequence to the losing
nation is high levels of brain drain and a negative impact to the nation’s economy.
It is therefore, important and indeed a requirement that the issue of state
management is handled carefully and swiftly in order to fully restore peace in African
nations. However, state management in words cannot be a solution to the problem
that has crippled Africa. It ought to be place in context as a common denominator for
a variety of issues that must be managed in order for lasting peace and the
democratisation process to follow the required path to achieve finality in eradicating
conflict and attain democracy. It is this variety of issues that are to be managed that
this study will revolve around. Some of these issues touch the very heart of
leadership principles and the political party structures adopted by the leaders in

Introduction
3
power and the elite as well as the kind of playing field set for criticism of government,
fair competition, multiparty politics, free speech and participation in politics.
In this discourse, the aim is to examine the role of tribes in state management and
establish whether tribes can play a major and an effective role in the democratization
process. The case study for this research will be the African nation of Kenya in East
Africa. The common denominator as stated earlier will be the achieving of concrete
state management strategies and the variable in this case will focus on the tribes and
their inclusion into the political realm, development and infrastructure, sharing of the
resources, provision of government services such as security, health, employment,
constitutional reforms, human rights and civil rights and their violations with the
ultimate aim of acquiring support from tribal factions not just based on ethnicity,
which is a strong determining factor, but also on the basis of genuine support gained
from a beneficial government to all communities.
In the chapters that follow I will analyse the role of tribes in relation to state
management from different perspectives with greater focus laid on the role of
presidency, the multiparty politics and elections. The paper will be divided into four
different chapters with the last two chapters focusing more on a case study.
In this first chapter, besides the introduction, there will be a section of literature
review in order to better understand the vices that have inflicted the African states.
The literature review of this paper will revolve around issues of ethnicity and ethnic
conflict, conflict resolution, reintegration, multipartism, political violence, state
intervention and conflict management, democracy and democratization, citizenship
and morals i.e. what is morally good and bad and their consequences. These will

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focus on issues such as ethnic cleansing, causes and consequences, ‘violence’ as
an instrumental or communicative factor of politics taking the form of demonstrations,
whether peaceful or otherwise and multiparty politics and the representation of
minority groups.
The second chapter will focus on the issue of state management and the dynamics
involved in achieving order and peace in a nation. State management, as the writer
will show, is not just as a matter of having a leader. It is not automatic that where
there is a leader there is order as has proved to be the case in many nations that
have ended up in total anarchy as a result of state mismanagement taking the form
of dictatorship or authoritarianism and personalization of the presidency. On the
contrary, it involves surrounding oneself, as a nation leader, with productive people
who are focused and driven by principals and policies rather than patronage to
deliver, as a duty to the nations’ citizens, government services at all times and to all
people irrespective of class, ethnicity, colour, creed, race religion, sexuality or far
from any other form of discrimination. It is, also, the inclusion and representation of
persons from different walks of life into the political debates, state affairs and political
parties.
The above cannot, however, be achieved simply by holding rallies and campaigns.
Formal education is a necessity to participate and be included in political issues.
Illiteracy has very little space if any in the political spectrum. Those that are illiterate
ought to be included by way of translating political policies to a tribe that can be
understood and this should be done by the Electoral Management Body (EMB) and
by the politicians themselves through radios, billboards, pamphlets and other forms
of mass media communication while avoiding negative utterances against other

Introduction
5
ethnic groups. To include and exclude tribal factions from areas such as politics,
resource distributions, development and provision of services results in
marginalization of certain groups that will always be on the defensive with attack as
their best form of defence from those they perceive as the cause of their oppression.
To resolve this there must be equal representation of and distribution for all tribes of
the state in state affairs. It is also important, as the writer will show, to accept that
tribes exist and they are unique in their own different ways and these different tribes
must be included in some way in order to feel they are represented and share in
national and political debates. Distribution by patronage should be discouraged to
eliminate unhealthy competition, division and self interest. Politics can be simplified
by communication whereby the communication can take different forms with regards
to levels of understanding ranging from intellectuals, educated, partially educated
and illiterate.
Politics in Africa must be simplified in this way because over the last three decades,
education accessibility has been minimal to some marginalised people. For instance
Kenya has presented a very serious record of marginalising certain tribes that did not
vote or prefer the Kenya African National Union (KANU) regime. As part of this
marginalisation, education among other resources was inaccessible. Development of
infrastructure and industrialization was for those that approved, in favour of or voted
for President Moi. This as the writer will show, has created a perfect opportunity for
lack of innovation, the growth of street children, slums, the spread of aids, poverty
and the sheer lack of understanding of political jargon.
Once politics has been simplified there can then be an opening to facilitate the
resolution of conflict and reintegration of marginalised people back into the societal

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beneficial gains such as education, employment, manufacturing and overall socio-
economic development through recruitment and training into a variety of sectors such
as defence, security, agriculture and industries using tools such as workshops,
apprenticeships etc. With these gains the state can then begin to enjoy some level of
free and fair elections as opposed to having illegitimate regimes. In addition all
persons will be eligible to tap into the country’s resources and political parties will
have a higher level of political institutionalisation defined by well developed policies,
democratic practices and party affiliations based on ideology and group interests as
opposed to affiliation based on personal gains.
In the third chapter, the writer will conduct an analysis on the situation of Kenya with
particular focus aimed at tribes as the main formation of the citizens of the nation.
This chapter will begin by covering a historical background of the country. This will
include the colonial period and the emergency period of 1952 – 1959 when Governor
Baring and his government were in pursuit of the Mau Mau uprising (Elkins, 2005
passim). Here the writer will show how unconventional methods were devised and
implemented in an attempt to flush out the Mau Mau freedom fighters while covering
up all the acts of torture and detention without trial thus acquiring the name “serikali
(in Swahili, siri means secret and kali means cruel)” (Assefa and Wachira 1996 p.
24), portraying that the government as both secretive and cruel with the society
distancing themselves from it. The writer will then focus on multiparty politics and its
resumption after Kenya’s de facto one party state and later de jure after the
amendment of the constitution at section 2A in 1982 by KANU during president Moi’s
rule (Murunga and Nasong’o 2007 passim, Furley 1995 passim).

Introduction
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In addition, an analysis of multiparty politics will form the investigation of
representation of tribes in the political agendas and their inclusion in formulation of
government or party policies. Here the writer will argue that political parties need to
unite as one and comprise of all tribes both large and small included from all parts of
the country in order to alleviate alienation of minority groups from the political scene.
A point to note here is the nomination of political aspirants and how representation of
tribes must go hand in hand with democratic nomination of the popular individuals
otherwise this again may not achieve its aim of uniting but rather dividing and
distancing people from the government by denying them their popular choice.
Two very notable moments when unity prevailed in bringing change to the Kenyan
political scenes was in the late 80s early 90s when Forum for the Restoration of
Democracy (FORD) managed to get a repeal of the constitutions section 2A and
when National Rainbow Coalition (NaRC) won the elections against KANU in 2002.
These are two evident cases where unity and representation of different ethnic
groups in the political agendas and inclusion of those communities in matters that
concern them and their livelihoods can have profound effects in state management.
Incidentally, the united leaders, parties and groups that form this cohesive leadership
must follow on and keep their promises and meet their expectations. The ideals of
justice, liberty, democracy and economic prosperity that inspire the people to vote
leaders into power must be achieved or be seen to be in the process otherwise fair
elections are rapidly succeeded by violent bitter rivalry between various tribal factions
reflected from political leaders and members bickering and then splintering into
smaller negligible parties.

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Chapter four and the final chapter of the study will conclude by giving a summary and
outcome of the analysis done. It will also highlight suggestions of achieving tribal
inclusion in the political agendas of the nation. Above all, the study will conclude by
looking at certain dynamics that affect the democratisation process with regards to
tribes. This will focus on areas such as class and elite. It will bring in a new
dimension to this study that may be room for further study and that is different
classes within similar tribes. Is conflict as a result of tribal differences or class
differences and the struggle for state power by different generations?

Introduction
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1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The literature review for this discourse will revolve around issues of ethnicity and
ethnic conflict, conflict resolution, political violence, reintegration, state intervention
and conflict management, multipartyism, democracy and democratization, citizenship
and morals.
The above issues are inter-related in numerous ways. There has been extensive
studies and research by many scholars on the subject of conflict, its resolution and
reintegration of victims; state violence as a product of politics and the states
intervention and management of the violence, the effects these have had on
democracy and the democratisation process in nation states that suffer from internal
conflict. To discuss this issues without analysing the effects on the democratisation
process is somewhat penitent as democracy or the need for a government for the
people is the reason why people with differences clash in the search for fairness,
justice and accessibility to resources and power. Having an uneven playground that
different parties are unwilling to accept causes friction as self interest takes charge.
Ethnicity, over the last four decades, has been and remains the most volatile subject
in African states. Many of the elite groups, formation of classes, organisations,
institutions and political parties have been formed with some sort of ethnicity as the
underlying factor and this has caused rifts between different ethnicities. These rifts
have been the cause of most African conflicts which have mainly been civil conflicts
in the struggle for power. For ethnicity to exist there must be distinctions between
different groups whereas individual ethnic groups

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must share common characteristics such as origins, interests or cultures that are
significantly distinct from others (Murunga and Nasong’o 2007, Dwyer and Drakakis
1996, Furley 1995, Cashmore 1996, Yinger 1994). The distinctions may be on
language, religion, belief or political institutions that are nurtured and “become part of
the ethnic baggage and the children are reared to accept these” (Cashmore 1996 p.
121)
Ethnic conflict, however, even though based on the grievances against another
ethnic group is not necessarily based on the above distinctions identified. The
distinctions define the differences between the ethnicities but in themselves are not
causes of conflict. Conflict between ethnicities is as a result of classes, poverty,
oppression, violations of human rights, exclusion from state resources, political
power and representation, social injustice, unfairness in distribution of development
of infrastructure and many others. As Furley identifies that wholesome conflict
causes are as a result of “power struggles, hostile groups, overpopulation, economic
disparities. oppression and demands for democracy” (Furley, 1995 passim). It has
been suggested that assimilation of different societies can help eradicate the onset of
ethnic based conflict (Yinger 1994 p. 39). Yinger defines assimilation as the “process
of boundary reduction that can occur when members of two or more societies, ethnic
groups or smaller social groups meet and activities such as intermarriage, farming,
entrepreneurship, social relations and interracial goals are achieved”. However the
opposite is true, dissimilation, the reversal of assimilation, can also occur when the
different groups encounter disagreements amongst each other. These
disagreements can stem from political affiliation, religious beliefs, accessibility to
resources and so forth.

Literature Review
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The disagreements create a setting for a competition where there was none and this
competition gives rise to hostility and animosity as different groups begin to scramble
for a share of what their opponents have access to. In the ensuing competition, the
distinctiveness of one group, such as a tribe or region demarcated by boundaries, is
manipulated in favour of one group or leader and the group is made to believe that
their opponent, a tribal or religious group, “is against the progress and development
of the whole nation or a threat to its security. Instead of creating national unity, such
radical and fundamentalist ideologies divide people who have been living together for
ages” (Assefa and Wachira 1996 p. ix).
The hostility and animosity then begets violence and for the purpose of this study the
analysis shall be on political violence. “Political violence such as riots,
demonstrations, ethnic cleansing, assassination, murders and damage to property
has been heavily blamed on political parties in multi-ethnic societies” (Oxford
Analytica 2008) where competition is high. Political parties, however, are not totally to
blame but they have a part to play. After all, it is political violence which means it has
a political connotation. Nevertheless, the failure of political parties to take steps in
building support from all ethnic groups has led to party fragmentations into smaller
and sometimes negligible parties or parties that focus on partisan appeals from their
own tribal enclaves. This was a real problem in Kenya in 2007 prior to the post
election violence. Furthermore, many political party members and leaders made use
of explicit utterances calling for ethnic patriotism causing local tensions that
capitulated into full blown conflicts. It, therefore, follows that political violence as
defined by Honderich is “a considerable or destroying use of force against persons or
things, a use of force prohibited by law, directed to a change in the policies,
personnel or system of government, and hence also directed to changes in the

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existence of individuals in the society and perhaps other societies” (Honderich 1979
p. 9). “Aspects such as riots, destruction by fire and bombs, injuring, maiming and
killing of innocent citizens and security forces are covered in the above definition”
(Honderich 1979 passim). Nardin further posits that there needs to be a ”consensus”
“including an agreement about who has the right to govern” (Nardin 1971 p.10). In
addition “violence is often identified with the actions of those who appear to reject this
consensus” (ibid).
State intervention and conflict management is the duty of the elected government. It
is the duty of the elected ruling party that is or is not legitimately accepted by the
people to (whether the election is fair or not at this point is irrelevant and negligible
over state stability and the return to peace and security to the people) take the
necessary steps to ensure that state stability is restored. In a nutshell the duty of the
state is to ensure that there is security to all, safe guard and protect human life and
property, freedom of movement, free political expression, justice and fairness and
provision of government services such as health care, food availability, sanitation,
housing and rehabilitation. African states, in this context, have presented an array of
situations in state intervention and conflict management. There were enormous
changes in politics over the three decades prior to the 1990s all in the direction
towards increased involvement in conflict management once in power. Sisk observed
that “Africa has seen scores of new governments come to power seeking to
inaugurate a new era that displaces the paradigmatic one-party or military-led
“patrimonial” states that held sway over the continent for thirty years (Reynolds and
Sisk 199 p. 1). Many of these new governments were formed through political
reforms, peace agreements or multiparty elections.

Literature Review
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It is evident in Africa, through the eruption of numerous conflicts, how much sacrifices
have been made by the people of various nations in search of democracy and good
state management. In recent times it has been harder for the incumbent leaders to
carry on with unsupervised state management processes as people have been
exposed to more education and accessibility to rural areas is now quicker hence
information travels much faster. As a result of poor governance and people being
more informed, conflict has taken root in the struggle for democracy as the way to
voice any dissatisfaction for the government as many of the newly formed
governments have their leaders clinging onto power for many years, sometimes
unfairly, while delivering very poor results which are well below expectation as they
had promised. For this reason many African countries have been recipients of bloody
civil wars and internal conflicts that are exacerbated by poor management and poor
intervention of high risk situations. Some scholars have researched on the role of
elections on the democratization process and how this impacts on conflict
management. They have found that free and fair elections play a key role in the
democratization process which in turn impacts on conflict management positively
(Reynolds and Sisk 1999 passim). On the one hand however this may be the case
but on the other hand elections may be manipulated and corrupted by lack of proper
reforms and policing of the process. Elections can only be said to contribute to
democracies if the elector is uncoerced during the vote, votes secretly, is not
intimidated and is allowed to register without undue obstructions. As Honderich
observed concerning uncoerced choice “the politics of the electors are not forced
upon them. That is to say, roughly, that their attitudes, wants, demands and choices,
both interested and in a way disinterested, are of their own making (Honderich 1976
p. 92)”

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1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In order to answer the variables identified in chapter one of this dissertation a
systematic approach was required so as to get the best outcome. This approach
relied heavily on secondary material in order to theorise the concept of state
management and build on the make up of the case study. For this reason a
qualitative analysis was adopted with literature analysis and a small sample
questionnaire as opposed to interviews.
1.2.1 Sample Selection
The sample groups chosen to participate in the questionnaire initially consisted of
two groups. The first group consisted of the Kenya High Commission staff in London
and they were preferred because of their close proximity to state affairs and
governance. The second group consisted of participants who were Kenyans either in
the diaspora or in Kenya. The sampling method adopted was convenience sampling
where the researcher identified two groups that were easily accessible and could
allow somewhat inexpensive follow up. The sample size was small because the
methodology of qualitative analysis would collect a lot of data and a large sample
size would be unmanageable with the time available. These groups were to “provide
a range of people that will allow the exploration of different and comparative
experiences relevant to the question” (Davies 2007 p. 146)
1.2.2 Instrument and Process of Data Collection
The instrument for primary data collection was a questionnaire with “a combination of
both closed and open ended questions” (Dawson 2006 p. 32) which aimed at
deriving a personal view from individuals in conjunction with their situational
experiences on the effects of state management in Kenya, both positive and

Research Methodology
15
negative, based on their different levels of interests in a particular subject matter
which in this case study revolved around the current governance situation in Kenya
and the challenges that lie ahead. The outcome of the questionnaire was to shed
some light on the question of tribes and conflict, resource distribution and
development, effects of conflict to the people and any steps taken to reduce or
eradicate such incidences, the roles of Members of Parliament and their
achievements to the society, to put to question the governments efforts concerning
the prosecution of human rights perpetrators and an overview of the challenges that
lie ahead. These would all go a long way analysing the variables that gravitate to
state management and good governance.
The process involved began with determining the question at the onset of the
dissertation. This question addressed tribes and their inclusion onto politics, equal
sharing of development, infrastructure and resources, provision of government
services like security, health, employment, constitutional reforms, safeguarding
human rights and civil rights and clamping down on their violations with the ultimate
aim of acquiring genuine support from tribal factions as opposed to ethnic support.
The researchers’ assumption was that these were the variables that greatly affect the
delivery of good state management and during the secondary research, which was
formed from document analysis and constituted the theoretical framework, the
research emphasis was laid on presidency, election and political party structures as
the main areas that consequently affect the variables mentioned resulting to state
management. The questionnaire therefore was drafted to support or refute the
assumptions made by the researcher.

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To avoid bias on the researchers’ part, the draft was sent out to a few people who
were not part of the participating sample to provide an independent overview. The
researcher explained to them the aim of the questionnaire and they contributed by
way of confirming that the questionnaire would deliver as the questions were easily
understood.
1.2.3 Rationale for Primary Research Technique
Qualitative analysis employs the methods of “observation, interviewing, and
document analysis” (Davies. 2007 p. 185) as some of the main elements during case
studies. However a questionnaire as the primary methodology was adopted for a
number of reasons. Firstly it presented an easier preparation phase because it would
be “driven by the researcher’s agenda.” (Davies 2007 p. 82). During the research it
became apparent that interviews would be difficult to conduct due to constraints such
as time, money and also securing top political officials at times that were convenient
for both of us. Because of the researchers’ tight schedule between work, family and
studying it quickly dawned that a different approach had to be devised. With that in
mind questionnaires with structured and semi structured questions were sent out
instead. This enabled the participant to answer questions and to also add their own
views and reasons for their answers. Secondly it reduced the risk of time consuming
activities such as re-writing verbal conversations into manuscripts; a task that is
necessary with interviews. Thirdly, the questionnaire would be filled in at the
participant’s free time within a specified time frame and not at an exact time thereby
giving them time to think about their answers.

Research Methodology
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1.2.4 Rationale for Secondary Research Technique
As stated earlier, document analysis and literature review was heavily relied upon to
build up the theoretical framework and to identify what other scholars have said
concerning certain aspects that affect state management and good governance. In
the case of Kenya, secondary material was extremely important to understand the
past challenges and the history of the country in as far as tribe and state
management are concerned. It was worth drawing up an overview of how
governance and tribe have played a tremendous part in shaping Kenya and the
challenges it experiences today and possible in the future. This overview was made
possible by literature written by scholars in the past and it provided a very strong
foundation for the build up of the dissertation.
1.2.5 Limitations
The main limitations experienced were firstly, the lack of commitment during
responses and low number of responses than expected. Some participants would
choose to leave out certain questions which reduced the number of responses.
The sample groups chosen also created an unforeseen problem. The questionnaires
sent to the Kenya High Commission in London failed to bear returns. Not a single
questionnaire came back from that department therefore this led to a further division
of the other questionnaires into 2 groups of people with high interests and low
interest in political affairs. Thus many of the responses had mainly negative
connotations apart from one respondent, a former Member of Parliament aspirant in
the 2007 general election who lost during nominations due to reasons he cited as
party undemocratic nomination procedures, whose responses bordered a slightly
different overview and as a researcher there was the feeling that there must be some

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positive portion going on in house within the current government. Such a positive
connotation would ideally have come from those within such as the High Commission
staff and their failure to respond has had an adverse effect on a comparative
analysis.
Finances to support the research project were another very big problem. The case
study was Kenya and a visit to the country to do this research would have proved
very substantial especially with the observation technique and to also get research
material that has been produced by other scholars which may not be available
elsewhere. However the cost implications on the researcher would have been heavy
especially flying, accommodation, food, transport etc. In addition, after a lot of
consideration it became apparent that getting a chance to interview some political
leaders would be a great challenge and this could prove to be an expensive loss on
the researchers’ part. This had a great impact on the final project because it lacked
first hand contribution from those that were involved in state management.
1.2.6 Conclusion
Given time, the research would have included more secondary research material
such as books, journals, magazines etc. However, with the limited time available for
research and the help accorded by my supervisor Professor Nabil Ayad this research
has taken me on a tremendous and unforgettable journey that will have a lasting
impact on my life.

State Management: The Role of Inclusion
19
2 CHAPTER2: STATE MANAGEMENT:THE ROLE OF INCLUSION
Proper management is the lifeline for the survival of any organisation, institution,
personal achievements or even collective purposes. Without management there is
bound to be doom at the end of the tunnel. Dr Covey in his book title The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People talks about leadership and management at length as one of
the most effective ways of success in any endeavour that one sets out to achieve.
State management, therefore, is paramount in order to guarantee the survival of the
state and the continued existence of its inhabitants. This existence of inhabitants or
human life ought to live within reach of basic human needs that we can deduce may
only be achieved by good planning and distribution of resources to enable self
empowerment of the individual in a bid to eradicate societal beggars and endemic
poverty.
Africa has been plagued by numerous outbreaks of violence that various scholars
have deduced to be caused by religious, race and ethnic differences and hatred.
However, Mafeje counters this thesis by identifying a setback and posits that, “there
is growing consensus among African scholars to the effect that ethnic loyalties in
particular and parochial identities generally are not the root causes of political
instability in modern African states but something else” (Dakar, Senegal, 26th
June –
2nd
July, 1995 p. 3.) (Okoth and Ogot et al, 2000 p. 46). Nasong’o Wanjala further
expounds this thesis in a discourse by addressing that, this “something else” is
“competition for resources in situations characterised by lack of effective political
institutions.” (Okoth and Ogot et al, 2000 p. 46). My aim in this discourse is to support
a further thesis building from this contention to show that the failure of class and elite
in decision making for the good of the nation by exclusion of different groups of

20
society from state affairs and political agendas and debates is part of the hidden
reason behind the ever growing conflict that has plagued Africa over the last three
decades.
Arguably, whatever the cause of this conflict that has become the centre of study
among many scholars world over, it is noticeable that the situation has created an
overwhelmingly catastrophic and underdeveloped economy that has left many
African people wallowing in endemic poverty while the perpetrators have continually
benefited from the same situation. This creation of an elite class and a poverty
stricken class has more than likely been the single cause of deep seated animosity
amongst societies and has caused the elite to mobilize the poor for their own selfish
reasons; that is to continue getting richer and acquiring more resources while the
poor fighting majority are left to their own devises as soon as the elite have achieved
their goals.
Empirical concepts that will be employed to better argue out the earlier mentioned
thesis in the course of this discourse include the role of presidency in African states
where I shall carry out an analysis of the ultimate position of presidency in the
political systems of Africa. Secondly, the role of elections, free and fair, free from
violence and acceptance of election results by the losing party for the sake of the
nations political stability and lastly, the role of political parties and how they are
formed, governed and the recruitment into posts and party nominations during
elections. All this will have particular emphasis on tribe and their representation in
political and state affairs as their exclusion is a void that is significantly exploited to
cause violence. These are some of the volatile areas that, I will endeavour to argue,
are the causes of conflict and state mismanagement more so political rather than

21
ethnic. The position of presidency will be used, as the first argument, to test the
reality of this thesis.
2.1 Presidency and State Management
The Presidential position in many African states is a highly coveted position by the
elite. This has caused the position to be a cause of conflict rather than a position for
use in good state management policies. This position has come to be above the law
and the incumbent President ultimately enjoys unprecedented and unquestionable
benefits and power. The African president has been seen to assume control of all
nation resources, their distribution, development, benefits etc, retain the presidential
position for decades, command respect as party leader and nation leader without
question, conduct election just as a way of legitimizing the continued hold of office
and frustrate any genuine upcoming political aspirants, who challenge the
presidential position or attempt to reduce its powers through constitutional
amendments, by criminalising their activities. This has led to unfair governance, with
distribution of resources shared only amongst those that are in favour of the
president and his party thereby making them inaccessible to others and increasing
their competition. Various examples on point are such as Kenya’s President Moi,
Somalia’s President Siad Barre, Zaire’s President Mobutu, Tanzania’s President
Nyerere etc. (Okoth and Ogot et. al. 2000 passim). Consequently, other elite that
have been excluded from the distribution of this ‘national cake’ have vented their
dissatisfaction of the ruling regimes by engaging in violence through mobilization of
the excluded ethnic groups and the poor in general.
State management is a political objective that is engendered in the political parties
manifesto on how the chosen individuals will lead the country into realisation of

22
sustainable peace, economic stability and development and the overall political
stability. The electorate, in free and fair elections, choose their desired
representatives so that their livelihoods can be improved by the decisions that the
elect make (Hoffman and Graham 2006 p. 112). Therefore, state management ought
to be understood from the institutions that have the mandate to effect it. These
institutions shall be discussed further in this chapter under the discussion of political
parties. However, for the moment, the presidency has been singled out to elaborate
how control is centralised to a single person who then determines how everything
else will be distributed and how this individuals’ interest, as a part, is greater than the
whole i.e. political institutionalisation.
In a bid to command complete control of state affairs, the heads of state in Africa
have positioned themselves in positions that are hardly unshakeable by acquiring
enormous amounts of state wealth, immunity from prosecution while in power which
increases the need to retain presidency, control of resources and their distribution to
maintain patronage from all party members, party sympathisers and recruit more
sympathisers. Because of this, the position of presidency has become the single
most coveted position in politics of Africa. It is the ultimate goal of many from the elite
class and if that is not the case, it has become the position that many want to have a
close relation with or an affiliation to in order to be on the receiving end of the
resources as they are distributed. This position has therefore created a situation
where people will do almost anything to retain whatever meagre relationship they can
with the presidency or the elite who are in close proximity with the presidency so as
to continue benefiting from the ‘breadcrumbs’ for as long as they are in support of the
regime.

23
Consequently, while the presidency is in control of resources, the distribution is not
equal and this causes friction especially amongst the elite class that is excluded from
the distribution list. The elite class that is excluded may be in such a position for a
number of reasons such as those in the opposition, those from minority groups, those
not from the same ethnic group as the president, those who fall out with the
president, defect from his party or as Mutahi Ngunyi describes it they have been
““disengaged” as another set of elite is “incorporated” in to [his] regime” (Oloka-
Onyango, Kibwana, Peter et al, 1996 p. 265). These result in the mobilization of the
under privileged and the politically deprived groups of society, manifesting itself in
ethnic hatred where the elite have fallen out with a particular tribe. For instance, this
party X – Y and tribe A – B analysis, if a presidential aspirant from tribe A is excluded
from party leadership in party X, where party X is a potentially winning party, and a
party presidential aspirant from tribe B is preferred for the position of presidency then
the aspirant from tribe A will defect from the party X and join another party Y where
he has potential to gain support for presidency. He will then create an antagonistic
relationship between tribe A and B because he will be blaming tribe B for controlling
access to presidency and ultimately the control of state resources thus portraying
that tribe B is the cause of all oppression suffered by tribe A and any other tribe.
From this analysis we can deduce that presidency is one of the root causes of
conflict in African states. In the next part of this chapter I shall introduce the political
parties and how their weakness are a cause of tribe conflict and consequently, state
mismanagement should they end up as the incumbent regime.
2.2 Tribe and Representation in Political Parties
The weaknesses of political parties are a factor causing conflict in Africa. Poor or
lack of party institutionalisation, party funding, internal party structures and

24
relationship to the state have been identified as some of the key factors that hinder
the healthy competition of multi party politics in Africa (Oxford Analytica 2008). These
parties, if voted into power, carry the same vices into office thereby undermining any
real opportunity of good state management. In this part of the chapter, the emphasis
shall be on the failures of political parties to participate in inclusive politics whereby
majority and minority tribes form part of the party members. Some causes of these
failures are such as, firstly, party membership based on patronage, on positions of
power, on personal wealth and on what clout one has amongst his tribesmen hence
pulling more voter numbers. Secondly, unfair party nominations into positions of
power and automatic presidential nomination for the party leader. Thirdly, lack of
party guidelines that govern the political party models, how they are funded and how
they recruit members. Lastly, inter party struggles for articulation of personal interests
of certain individuals over the party interests thus causing fall outs and defections
into other parties; a weakness showing that not only are party members selfish but
are also not in it based on ideology and policies but their affiliation is to fulfil their own
selfish interests.
Every individual as a citizen of the nation ought to have equal right to vote and to be
voted. The right to vote shall be covered in the next part of this chapter. The right to
be voted means that when participating in political debates the individual has equal
opportunity as any other political participant to engage in campaigns that will place
him or her as the people’s choice. This should be possible irrespective of colour,
race, ethnicity, region, religion or any other distinct difference that one may have. It is
in this concept that political parties ought to retain and recruit members. As
mentioned earlier, state management ought to be understood from the organisations
that are tasked with the duty of making the decisions that affect the lives of the

25
electorate (See presidency) and these organisations are the political parties that are
vying for power and control of government or the incumbent regimes. The members
of these organisations are individuals who are exercising their rights to be voted as
well as to vote. The members should join political parties because they are, first and
foremost, in support of that parties manifesto and policies and not simply because of
tribal affiliation, patronage or for better prospects of attaining a position in office.
Political parties, as it follows from the above membership reasons, should build their
organisation on strong ideologies and policies that are for the good of the nation and
not for personal, regional or ethnic group gains. They should accept membership and
recruit on the basis that those members will continue to support the collective cause
of the party and not pursue personal interests that will cause friction amongst the
members. The members should also respect the party policies and live by them as
opposed to joining a party and throwing their ‘weight around’ to command respect
based on their wealth or clout.
On the contrary, political parties in Africa have poor policies and guidelines (Analytica
2008) and are formed on very personal grounds in order to express individual or
ethnic grievances. The parties are self funded thereby making their single survival
lifeline dependent on private funding from individuals who end up sharing resources
amongst themselves once they are voted in to office. The result of such dependency
causes some party members who are offering the largest amounts of money to be
idolized by other members and this impedes any remote chance of intra-party
democratic process to prevail. These also cause fragmentation that results in
formation of smaller parties where members have felt that their interests are not
being met or where party policies are engrossed around certain individuals rather

26
than collective interests. The outcome is the existence of numerous political parties
that are so limited in resources that they are sometimes negligible or otherwise
known as “the briefcase party”.
Party nominations and positions of power ought also to be accorded as a matter of
merit, experience and professional background. Candidates should be picked for
various positions and party members given the chance to vote for the popular and
most suitable member to fill a position. This allows for the equal opportunity for each
individual to acquire a position in office based on popular vote and suitability for
office. However, nominations of candidates for African political elections have seen
unfair distribution of office with positions offered on a patronage basis examples
abound such as former President Moi of Kenya, President Museveni of Uganda,
(Oloka-Onyango, Kibwana, Peter et al, 1996 passim) and more recently President
Mugabe of Zimbabwe whose government conducted a “crackdown on the opposition”
figures and supporters in a bid to retain presidency and positions for his cronies
(International Crisis Group 2008 p. 15) as cases in point. This leads on to the next
failure of political parties in African countries which is the lack of proper guidelines
that govern and institutionalise political party processes and activities.
Political parties in Africa have presented a very poor record on their formations,
governance, leadership, policies and funding. However, placing all the blame on
political parties is a serious oversimplification as constitution reforms ought to be
completed in order to better accommodate multi party politics from previous single
party states. Nevertheless, there has been a failure on the part of the political parties
to define crucial and reliable ideologies and policies that will form the core base and
survival of such parties. Political parties in Africa, unlike well established parties such

27
as the Labour and Conservative parities in the UK or the Democrat and Republican
parties in the US, have no concrete structures, rules, guidelines and polices that
ought to be adhered to and that are the driving force of such parties. This is
particularly so considering that most parties are formed as a result of disengaged
elite who were once incorporated but have now lost their place in current regimes.
Because of this, the parties lack coherent and congruent political policies that will
bind them together irrespective of who constitute as their members.
This lack of political institutionalisation creates an opportunity for personalizing the
party and for the most part, even civil society groups which provide a perfect
opportunity for recruiting other disengaged but wealthy personas. Oxford Analytica
identifies three problems with political parties that hinder democratisation as “The
‘Big Man’ rule, Conflict and Corruption” (Oxford Analytica 2008 p. 3). These then,
subsequently, impact on state management and delivery of service. I can deduce
from the above that the lack of political institutionalisation is the main cause of
authoritarianism hence the ‘Big Man’ rule, ethnic mobilization for the purpose of
voicing grievances causing conflict and lastly recovering of used funds to sustain the
party and any campaigns causing corruption.
Most party funding comes from within and from few members, especially those that
have acquired wealth from previous regimes and have been disengaged thereby
having no particular obligation to deliver services once in office. This creates an
environment for corruption to recover spent funds. Party affiliation is therefore not
based on ideologies but on what one can gain from being in any particular party at
any particular time hence the reason for defecting to other parties when need and
opportunity arises.

28
From the above political party analysis it is becoming apparent that the initial thesis
of this discourse on whether conflict and state mismanagement is as a result of tribal
hatred is inconsistent and that it actually lies in other factors that are continually
manifested on ethnic cleavages. In the next chapter an analysis of the electorate and
the role of elections and how it affects state management or the lack of it will be
conducted.
2.3 Elections and State Management
Universal and regional standards define and control the process of elections and
these originate from international set standards that are adhered to by all nations.
According to the Kriegler Report these “international instruments describe the various
components of civil and political rights and freedom”. The report also adds that these
are “the key principles universally accepted by the family of nations which believe in
democracy as the basis for good governance in each state.” (Kriegler Report 2008 p.
11). There is need, therefore, to clarify at this point that, election is a universally
agreed procedure that can be used to legitimize any incumbent ruling regime by the
use of voters’ power or people power. It therefore follows that the electorate take
active control in exercising their power to elect hence the elect should then be
indebted to the electorate that voted them in to office. This is true for all positions in
government that have previously been discussed, that is, the President and the
Members of Parliament, who are members of political parties and who will represent
the electorate in state affairs and make, on behalf of the electorate, decisions that
amount to good governance.

29
The above seems all very straightforward and while the electorate are voting, their
hopes are high that they will receive all the promises that have been set out by the
politicians they have chosen. Sometimes, however, this is not the case as African
nations have repeatedly proved. Nevertheless, if election is carried out carefully and
managed properly and those voted perform their duties properly while in office, it can
provide the greatest result in the inclusion of different communities and people into
political affairs because the populace will feel that they have a part to play in
choosing those whom they want to make the decisions for them.
Barkan discusses about democratization in agrarian societies and identifies the
“simultaneous existence of two different relationships” that enable the existence of
representation in an election systems as firstly “representation of citizens by their
chosen leaders, a relationship characterized by dialogue and accountability” and
secondly “tolerance, bargaining and compromise among rival political groups” (Sisk
and Reynolds et al, 1999 p. 59). These two form a symbiotic relationship that works
towards obtaining elect elite that both serve the citizens and represent their interests
in office while also building a relationship with other elites. This ensures that the
incumbent regime does not carry on unsupervised as they will be accountable to both
the people and to opposition groups. Representation of the citizens creates a level of
trust for the elect elite while compromise, bargaining and tolerance creates a deeper
relationship between opposition groups with the hope of achieving good governance.
The geographical difference, limited to tribe for the purpose of this study, and the
economic status of the geographical regions has great impact on the sway of voters
and whom they vote in especially with regards to rural and urban areas. Poverty in
these regions, where peasants depend on small scale farming for survival and work

30
towards realisation of the basic human needs such as shelter, clothing, food and
health, results in the inhabitants of those regions voting for the person, mostly the
same person, who provides services that enhance the realisation of such needs. As
Barkan further identifies, these peasants “approach to elections is to focus on the
basic needs of their local community and surrounding region – whether they have
adequate water, schools, and health care facilities, whether there is a farm-to-market
road, [and] whether the producer price for the agricultural commodity grown in their
area yields a fair return to local farmers.” (Sisk and Reynolds et al, 1999 p. 58).
Provision of all this determines who gets in to office hence a situation whereby the
elect may not necessarily feel indebted to provide any much more than what has
already been provided before. The true result here ends up being a vote for someone
from the same region as the voters making this a symbolic representation rather than
a national vote.
To sum up, three areas have been highlighted that are of importance in achieving
good state management especially where cultural pluralism exists. The roles of
presidency, political parties and elections according to the analysis in this chapter
provide key platforms in the realisation of a participatory society in political issues
and state affairs. This chapter mainly identified the vices that are currently contained
in the three areas discussed. These vices ought to be corrected in order for Africa to
begin enjoying good state management and political stability. The presidential
powers ought to be trimmed down and the president made unanswerable which is
currently not the case. Political parties ought to have proper guidelines, policies and
procedures and internal democratic practices so that they may be reflected once in
office. Elections ought to be properly policed, understood by voters and political
aspirants to readily accept the election results in order to reduce tensions.

31
The next chapter will address the case of Kenya and how these three areas have
been causes for conflict between tribes and as a result have impacted on the
management of state affairs.

32
3 Chapter 3: DYNAMICS OF TRIBE AND STATE MANAGEMENT:
THE CASE OF KENYA
Tribe and political conflict is not a new thing in Kenya. For many decades now tribal
factions have been involved in fighting struggles to get a place in leadership or
participatory advantage in political affairs. This is true from the colonial times up to
the recent post election conflict of December 2007. This type of ethnic division for
political power, as a result, heavily impacts on state management as its effects are
much more far reaching. Certain aspects of state management that decline as a
result of conflicting groups include economic decline, family and society fractures and
displacement of communities, death by murder or epidemics, food insecurity caused
by reduced production, crippled or deteriorating infrastructure and regional and
international security and relationships ( DFID 2001 passim)
Kenya is a country inhabited by various indigenous tribes. These make it a country
with a diverse wealth of cultures that many of the tribes are still holding on to. Some
of the tribes practice cultures that are even tourist attractions like the Maasai and the
Samburu people. The tribes migrated into the country many years ago and while in
the country they moved from place to place due to various reasons such as to move
away from raiders and attacks, diseases, in search of food and exploration of new
territories (Wanguhu, 2001 passim). This chapter shall discuss briefly the history of
Kenya and state management before independence with the main emphasis on
colonialism. Secondly an analysis, in detail, of the current situation in Kenya with
regards to tribe and state management taking into consideration the discussion and
analysis in the previous chapter.

Dynamics of Tribe and State Management in Kenya
33
3.1 Historical Overview
In order to asses the issue underlying the problem of poverty, unemployment,
inequality and a range of other issues in Kenya as factors arising from state
mismanagement it is necessary to examine the background upon which division of
tribes rest in the framework of colonialism, neo-colonialism and capitalism while
showing any patterns of tribes in political domination and class exploitation.
Consequently, a divide and rule approach makes possible exactly this kind of
analysis.
Production forces and production relations or in other words the ways and means of
gaining and sustaining products and the relationship of who owns the products and
controls the resources results in different classes. Classes formed are of the
dominant and proletariat class which creates a division of social classes, class
structures and class struggles. This is unhealthy classification with regards to state
affairs and the democratization process. The health check is affected by the class
struggles where the oppressed class struggles against the dominant class. The class
struggles are indeed political struggles with the oppressed class attempting to take
control or get a share in the control class. Even in a multiparty state if neo colonialism
and production relations are incorporated into the nation and its management then
democracy may not be easily achieved because of the issue of self interest and
external control.
Divide and rule can take the form of division of classes between the dominant elite in
power and the proletariat. The governing acting upon rather than consulting the
governed. This situation is further compounded by cultural pluralism whereby not
only are there dominant classes but also dominant classes from certain factions. This

34
further divides the proletariat into regional, cultural or tribal divisions that are
mobilised for the purpose of participatory advantage of elites from smaller groups.
The situation created is complex for instance Kenya, as it involves an oppressed
majority further divided into oppressed tribal minority groups that resent the dominant
tribe.
From the time of colonial rule, Kenya has had, as a capitalist state, the two classes
mentioned. A dominant class and a working class. The representation of this classes
consisted of different groups depending on the period the classes were formed.
Firstly the dominant class consisted of the white settlers while the proletariat was the
indigenous Africans. Secondly, the dominant class was formed by elite Africans that
collaborated with the white settlers during the colonial period and were later handed
power during independence. The dominant group during the colonial period formed
mainly by the white settlers created an environment whereby their interests were
safeguarded while the interests of the African indigenous people came very near to
last. Land was misappropriated and the inhabitants found themselves moved to the
periphery of fertile land. The settlers, with now all the land at their control, needed
labourers to work in the farms so they introduced land taxes in order to lure back the
Africans to work and raise funds to pay the taxes.
The level of racism, abuse, and pressure on the indigenous people coupled with
inaccessibility to equal or some level of land, exclusive control of all aspects of life
from social, political and economic plus the sheer lack of understanding for the
African indigenous “became one of the major causes of Kikuyu discontent and an
important factor behind the Mau Mau rebellion in 1952” (Furley 2005 p 239). As
Elkins notes the actions of one Captain Richard Meinartzhagen who “took pride in his

35
elimination of the Kikuyu who refused to capitulate to British rule; he launched
several attacks that included wiping out an entire village of men, women and elderly
using bayonets, rifles, machine guns and fire” (Elkins 2005 p. 3).
In addition, conveniently “in early July of 1959, Lord Lambton, the conservative MP,
felt compelled to publish a scathing article in the Evening Standard. The headline
“When Loyalty is not Enough” made his message clear. His concern was less about
the human rights violations in and of themselves, but rather their geopolitical
implications, as well as the mockery that” (Elkins 2005 p. 350) some of the atrocities
committed in the detention camps would have on the British civilizing mission. By the
time the article made headlines, however, a lot had been overlooked by the colonial
governor of Kenya, Sir Evelyn Baring in his attempts to cover up numerous atrocities
committed by his cohorts and any scathing report would do little if anything to resolve
the already dire situation that Kenya had found itself in.
State management as a matter of safeguarding personal or group interests,
regardless of whether local, regional or international, seems to have its roots in
colonialism in Kenya. An in-depth study of the former governor of Kenya during the
emergency period shows that this was and is the case to date. Governor Baring was
re instated onto even higher power in order to have more control over larger
territories when he was offered to head the “Colonial Development Corporation”
(Elkins 2005 passim). The role of this corporation was to offer loans and
management to developing countries provided they followed the rules set out for
them. Over the last 2 decades this has been “seen as a new type of pressure created
in itself to remove the root cause of conflict among other things” (Furley 1995 p.15)
even though some scholars have argued that it may be in itself a cause of conflict.

36
Nevertheless, the aid conditions imposed on Kenya in later years seemed to have
opened the opportunity for multiparty politics. The next section shall analyse the
evolution of governance in Kenya.
3.2 Tribe and Party Politics in Kenya: A Background
A distinct characteristic of the road towards democracy and curtailed state
management can be attributed to multi party politics or the existence of an opposition
in place to challenge the current ruling party on different policies and to keep an eye
on the use of power. The opposition also provides an alternative political leadership
to the people should the current ruling party lose its support hence creating healthy
competition. It is therefore, important that a political party ought to have a formal
structure, strong leadership based on institutional rather than individual beliefs and
interests, consistent supporters from all classes, ethnicities, ages and gender while
continuing to increase in size in order to sustain the chance of participating
successfully in election and ultimately obtain power, influence and control of the state
(Oloo, G. 2007 p. 91 – 100)
During the colonial period, representation in government of the various regions was
restricted to district political movements. Political organisations during this period
were allowed only if they represented district welfare, social and economic issues of
individual regions and not to share ideas with neighbouring regions (Elkins, 2005
passim. Wanyande 2006 passim). Consequently, many of the political parties formed
in Kenya at the inception of multi party politics inherited the same trend of ethnic
organisations with political interests aiming at representing their fellow folks at
political issues. Like in the colonial period where those that were chosen to represent
had been sponsored by their communities and garnered all their support from the
same, the current situation presented by Kenya party politics takes the same form.

37
However it is not as blatant as shown in a recent survey carried out by Afro
Barometer where most Kenyans expressed that their support for political parties is
not based on ethnicity but other factors as shown below (Table 3.2)
Table 3.2: Reasons for Political Party of Choice
Reason Percentage
Policies the Party promises to implement 70%
Personal integrity of the party leader 66%
Past governing experience of the Party 55%
Ethnic or regional origin of the Party leader 20%
Source: AFRO BAROMETER 2008 p.7
It is over simplistic to assume that the above results are conclusive because it is not
certain whether most people lack inner support for one of their own or from the same
ethnic group. Evidently, many believe if one of their own is in power then there is less
discrimination on their part and this is consistent with the initial argument raised in
this discourse that conflict is political rather than tribal. This has been identified in
Kenya and as the Waki commission noted:
everything flows not from laws but from the President’s power and personal decisions. This
also has led the public to believe a person from their own tribe must be in power, both to
secure for them benefits and as a defensive strategy to keep other ethnic groups, should
these take over power, from taking jobs, land and entitlements.” (Waki Report. 2008. p. 29)
This shows that even though the electorate may not openly support a party for the
sole purpose of the party leaders ethnicity there is still subtle support for the purpose
of gaining an advantage over other tribes since this is seen as a means of securing
benefits as noted by Posner (AFRO BAROMETER p.7)
“The fact that so many survey respondents told me that tribalism was wrong…does not imply
that it is absent either from their calculations or from their behavior. Despite their preference
for a situation in which resources are not distributed along ethnic lines, they find themselves
trapped in an equilibrium where ethnic favoritism is the rule, and where they lose out in access
to resources if they ignore its implications for political behavior” (Posner. 2005 p. 104).

38
Conversely, ethnicity in itself it cannot constitute to violence. It must be fuelled by
some other factor hence political violence manifesting in tribal differences.
The second dominant group mentioned earlier in this chapter is now made up of the
group of people who retain power as a means of access and security to state
resources. This group from the onset originated from the collaborators of the colonial
leaders in Kenya. They were those that capitulated to British rule and when the
British were leaving, were handed out government positions in order to maintain the
interests of the colonialists. These were the people that were not part of the Mau Mau
and were allowed to come up with regional associations that would be headed by
representatives who would insist on the inclusion of their supporting tribes into
political matters. To this day they are the same people whose families are wealthy
and maintain high positions in society (Oloka-Onyango, Kibwana, Peter et al. 1996
p.259).
Multi party politics in post independence Kenya has been elusive. Kenya African
National Union (KANU) and Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) were the first
parties and in the 1963 election KANU prevailed over KADU. KADU members were
accorded positions in the ruling party KANU hence the breakdown of KADU. In 1966,
further fragmentation in KANU gave way to the Kenya Peoples Union (KPU). A by-
election held saw many of the KPU members unseated by KANU members. KPU
was later banned and Kenya declared a de facto one party state until 1982 when it
was enacted on the constitution. After the de jure single party state was repealed in
late 1991, following concerted efforts from donor agencies, civil societies and
individuals alike, Kenya returned to multi party politics and held its 3rd multiparty
elections in 1992 when President Moi was the incumbent. Prior to the de jure repeal,

39
the president had expressed his discontent to the return of multi party politics in
Kenya. Donor agencies only released aid provided certain conditions were met. The
conditions were to result in changes to governance and state management but as
noted by Furley, they may have had notable positive changes towards democracy
but may carry with them negative aspects and open loopholes for manipulation in
tribal nations (Furley 1995 p. 15)
It was with this same argument that President Moi expressed dissatisfaction to this
new wave of pressure arguing that this would give rise to tribal parties and capitulate
into tribal differences. With this pressure still simmering, political figures who had
once been a part of KANU but had been disengaged, detained, tortured and were
aggrieved begun to voice their grievances while representing their marginalised
people on ethnicity or ethno regions. They united and set their differences aside to
form the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) in order to rally against the
undemocratic and recalcitrant system of Moi’s regime. They achieved success in
undoing the single party rule but lacked a way forward from then. FORD struggled to
nominate a leader and presidential candidate as many of the top officials eyed the
ultimate prize of presidency. The differences that were initially set aside as a sign of
unity, to oust or change the unfair constitution, began to manifest when all the
aggrieved felt that they deserved the top position. Intra party wrangles especially
between Kenneth Matiba and Oginga Odinga were so intense that there was no
future for the FORD party. The party officials reverted to their tribal enclaves for
support, thereby making party leadership a tribal affair.
President Moi maximised on the division of parties to win elections both in 1992 and
1997 since all other major parties relied on their tribal enclaves for support whereas

40
he relied on the minority and smaller tribes in all parts of the country for his support.
The reliance of tribes meant that any two that were of the same tribe with individual
parties split the votes between them hence the poor results exhibited by Democratic
Party of Mwai Kibaki and FORD Asili of Matiba. In the years that followed ‘united we
stand, divided we fall’ had been realised in the Kenyan politics. Party leaders and
party members moved from one party to another, while others formed political parties
at a whim for example Raila Odinga, Paul Muite, Simeon Nyachae, and others,
buying of prominent individuals to increase the party’s clout, formation of ‘briefcase
parties’ and defecting back to KANU in return for government positions. A once
united party, FORD, that was a threat to the ruling party KANU with a real chance of
winning the elections in 1992 simply fragmented into smaller sometimes negligible
party formations that fell short of the actual meaning and functions of a political party
posited at the start of this section. The much awaited multipartism was received by
unprepared people who were only in it to win it and impose their self interest in the
political organisations. The founder of a political party expected that he would be the
presidential nomination and having it any other way was unacceptable.
The parties that sprung up in Kenya, prior to the Political Parties Act enacted in 2008,
lacked numerous standards such as strong policy formulations that would sustain the
party and be used as a magnetic pull for other politicians, funding to promote and
deliver their ideas to their supporters, structured and systematic process of selecting
presidential, parliamentary and civic candidates thereby encouraging party wrangles
and defections, and finally national voter mobilisation and support as they relied
mainly on tribal votes based on the ethnicity and origin of the party leader or
prominent party officials.

41
As identified earlier in chapter 2 of this discourse, the shifting of alliances between
political party officials results in the shift of alliances by their supporters. The Kenya
situation is as such because conflict in Kenya has, over the years, shifted between
conflicting tribes. In 1992 to 1995 the Luo, Luhya, Kisii and Kikuyu were some of the
worst hit tribes in the Rift Valley region and Coast region. The activists in support of
the donor pressure for multi party politics in Kenya and the consequent members of
the FORD Party who later broke up to form smaller parties were from those tribes.
The fact that they were not in support of the ruling party and had formed their own
parties in opposition of KANU meant that they had to be destabilized in order to
reduce their voter turnout in the Rift Valley province, a strong hold for President Moi,
thereby giving KANU better prospects of votes from that region. In 2007, however,
the Luo, Luyha, Maasai and Kalenjin formed a strong opposition, the Orange
Democratic Party (ODM), while the Party of National Unity (PNU) leader was a
Kikuyu. The Kikuyu and the Kisii were now the victims only this time they were
targeted all over the country and not just in certain regions. Rift Valley however still
suffered the most casualties as noted in the Waki Report (Waki Report. 2008
passim). The above is consistent with the argument that control of the state and its
mismanagement is rooted in the selfish competition between individuals and party
officials for the scarce state resources, wealth, state control and power. It also shows
that tribes are consumed by various means into supporting political figures based on
ethnicity. This has resulted in poor representation and accountability on
parliamentary functions such as advocating for better socio-economic management,
eradication of political oppression, poverty and equality in resource distribution.
On the other hand, political status in Kenya can only change for the better. In July
2008, the Political Parties Act 2007 was enacted into the constitution and this will

42
bring some much needed changes. Changes that should have happened back in
1992 at the re-introduction of multi party politics. This new act allows for better party
leadership, membership and recruitment of party officials. In addition to this it
accommodates for party financial support from the state which will enable more
accountability from parties during audits and it demands national membership from
Kenya’s diverse communities to which “the ODM-Kenya chairman, Mr Samuel
Poghisio, said, this condition is essential as it will root out tribal political parties. “This
is long overdue and I am sure only a few of the over 300 registered political parties
will meet the requirements. Then politics will be evenly competitive,” (African Press
2008 passim). Numerous other party officials and members of parliament have
welcomed the introduction of the act as a positive way forward towards
institutionalisation of political parties and discouraging party defections. Due to some
stringent conditions that ought to be met in order to maintain a political party in
Kenya, and the short window of 6 months given by the registrar of political parties,
parties have now been reduced to as few as 30 (Daily Nation December 31 2008.).
Prior to this the parties had been 126 registered parties as recognized by the
Electoral Commission of Kenya, a figure that contrasts from that given by the ODM –
K chairman soon after the act came into effect.
3.3 Primary Data Presentation and Analysis
This section will present the data and an analysis of the findings gathered from the
questionnaire conducted on the sample group mentioned earlier in the methodology
chapter. (appendix 1).
The first part of the questionnaire was to identify the gender differences and age
groups that were involved and the outcome was an equal division between genders

43
with an unequal distribution between age groups. Secondly there was need to
identify the educational background of the participants and their interest in political
issues. This would help in clarifying whether the responses were well thought out or if
the participants were driven by emotions. The political interest responses were used
to place participants in different groups between those with political interest and
those without. This became relevant when one of the sample groups bore no
responses. In total there were 16 responses with 11 having greater interest in
political affairs than the other five who formed the second group.
Once the grouping had been established the second part was to establish the
perceived cause of ethnic conflict and this dared to test tribal hatred, political
instigation or resource conflict and finally a challenge of the coalition government’s
attempt, if any, to ensure eradication of such conflict in the future.
The third part emphasised the political structures in terms of tribal inclusion and also
the role of political parties and their members who are elected in office. This was to
establish whether they are delivering service to their electorate in order to sustain
confidence from the people. In addition, this part looked into the challenges the
government is facing in order to entrench good governance and have a positive
effect on state management and this was achieved by enquiring further on the
implementation of a local tribunal to try the 2007 – 2008 PEV perpetrators, reforms in
government institutions to promote independence in the execution of services, and
the formation of tribal alliances notably Kikuyu and Kalenjin.
Lastly, it was interesting to bring in the issue of majimbo (federalism) as this was a
factor of violence and has been a sensitive topic for many years. The aim was to

44
identify the perception of the people about this system of governance and its place in
Kenya. As a whole the study had very interesting responses that challenged my
assumptions and supported other scholars.
According to the responses received with regards to ethnic conflict many felt that this
was not entirely caused by tribal hatred but by political differences that ended up
manifesting as tribal differences. This is consistent with the observations cited by the
researcher, Furley (1995) Nasong’o (Okoth and Ogot et al, 2000) and the Oxford
Analytica (2008). There was a consensus with regards to causes of conflict lying
elsewhere with some responses citing resources especially land, while others
thought culture. One of the responses had this to say, “Land is very important to
Kenyans. A lot of people know and feel cheated from the historical injustices of land
distribution”. (Source: Questionnaire).
This response supports Elkins (2005) where land expropriated by white settlers has
never been resolved to the satisfaction of the Kenyan people thus impacting on the
delivery of the government to the people. Land, education and development were
cited as the main danger that needs addressing from the government as they have
played a major role in punishing different tribes. One response in particular was:
Resources can play a role, as in previous regimes, it has been used to reward and or punish
the tribes who do not show full support to the government of the day. Some areas like coast
province are behind in education hence other tribes who are more educated occupy jobs in
this area rather than the local people who have no resources’ to pay for their education. This
may have started the 1992 violence in this part of the country (Source: Questionnaire).
This shows that out of this disengagement and lack of resource management has
come enmity between the rewarded and the punished to cause conflict between
different communities and this is consistent with Ngunyi’s observation on
“disengaged elites” (Oloka-Onyango, Kibwana, Peter et al, 1996 p. 265).

45
The research delved further in search of any attempts made by the coalition
government to ensure the eradication of ethnic conflict and tribal differences and to
resolve any mismanagement that would continue to give rise to difference and result
in future conflicts and again the responses seem to come to the conclusion that the
two parties forcibly came together to end the violence at the insistence of Koffi
Annan, “the former United Nations secretary-general who was now acting as an
envoy of the African Union” (ISN. 5 February 2009) and are now struggling to keep
the union intact rather than tackle any issues affecting the people. There is a feeling
of uncertainty amongst the people on how strong the coalition is and whether it will
last the full term considering this same people in the coalition were the ones who fell
out during the NaRC coalition in 2002. There is little trust and this is impacting on
state management issues as delivery from the government is slow (DN 21 April
2009). The current challenges facing the coalition are the Mau Complex inhabitants,
political and weather induced famine and the formation of a local tribunal to try the
PEV perpetrators.
One respondent had this to say:
What could be enough when we still have Internally Displaced Peoples’ Camps in the
country? What is difficult for the government to achieve about re-settling people back to
where their homes were when we know that there was so much money donated by foreign
agencies to help the displaced people back to their ‘homes’? Where did the money go to?
Why are so many people still languishing in those Red Cross tents near Molo town and In
Kiambaa, Eldoret? Why were these people promised money for rebuilding their homes that
had been burned down and yet when it came to the handouts they only got Ksh.10,000/-?
(Source: Questionnaire).
While another expressed the following about the coalition’s attempts:
I do not see any tangible thing the coalition government has done for those affected by the
violence, and measures put in place to ensure it does not happen again. I think they are too
busy trying to manage the coalition and the different parties concerned instead of putting
specific measures in place...it is even a struggle for the perpetrators to be put to justice.
(Source: Questionnaire).

46
With many of the other sharing the same view of general discontent to the coalition.
This in the researcher’s view creates a dangerous environment for an outbreak of
violence as many people do not think the government is out to support them hence
reverting to tribal strongholds for support and security or what Yinger terms as
“Dissimilation” (Yinger 1994 passim).
The third part dealt with the challenges that face the current government and the first
is the delivery service by members of parliament (MP) once they are voted in to
power. The observation from the respondents showed that there was little or nothing
at all that was implemented or achieved by MPs once in office. The researcher
deciphered from this information that once MPs are back in office they were more
concerned with their own interests and what they can acquire from such positions
with one respondent saying:
Kenyan politicians only look after their relatives and themselves. It is still the same even with
the coalition in government. As a keen observer of events in Kenya, most posts and contracts
from the government go to the people who have cronies in the government. (Source:
Questionnaire)
As noted in chapter 2.2, once in office allegiance is to the party leader and not the
electorate. Secondly, a review of one implementation required by the government by
the Waki Report (2008 passim) to set up a local tribunal that will prosecute the main
perpetrators of the conflict resulted in very little confidence shown from the sample
group. Not only did 81% of respondents lack confidence in the implementation of
such a tribunal but also all the respondents saw the lack of an independent tribunal
from government influence, were it formed. The analysis shows that the government
has an acute challenge of winning confidence back from the people.
The third challenge that the questionnaire reviewed was the much needed reforms of
government institutions to promote their independence and ensure they deliver

47
services without influence from the government as a measure to quell ethnic conflict,
rid the nation off impunity and restore confidence. The three institutions targeted
were the police, the judiciary and the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK). These
three were picked out because they were the most mentioned during the conflict. The
people did not believe the police were out to help them, those who opted for violence
did not believe the courts would do anything to change the outcome of the election
due to government influence and the ECK was accused of being controlled by the
government when it should be autonomous in execution of its duties. This question
got mixed responses as majority refuted any reforms of such institutions would
address conflict or impunity. There was however a large minority that agreed such
reforms would go a long way. The former political aspirant responded by saying:
Such reforms will establish rule of law, strengthen democracy hence legitimacy to the
government and finally it will reinforce confidence to Kenyans to believe again in these
institutions in addressing disputes such as elections, land etc instead of seeking street justice.
(Source: Questionnaire)
The fourth challenge was the formation of a Kikuyu – Kalenjin alliance. The two main
rivalling tribes that are members of the Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association (GEMA) and
the Kalenjin, Maasai, Turkana and Samburu(KAMATUSA) alliance. The government
has been trying to coin an alliance between these two conflicting sides and the
researcher notes one thing before presenting the analysis of the questionnaire that
this alliance is between top officials and not the people but because the politics in
Kenya is alignment politics as stated in the party X – Y and tribe A – B analysis at
chapter 2.1 of this research, such an alliance would be conducive to force relations
between the two communities. Only one respondent agreed with my initial analysis.
Majority, once again, shot down such an alliance saying it had no place until truth
and reconciliation took place as well as the implementation of Waki Report (2008
passim) recommendations were met.

48
The final part of the questionnaire attempted to capture the perception of the people
regarding the majimbo system of governance. During the 2007 campaigns prior to
the civic, parliamentary and presidential elections, the opposition camp, ODM, highly
propagated this system to their electorate and it received tremendous support. There
was however, a factor of misunderstanding between the campaigners and the
electorate about what the majimbo system entails which led to disintegration of tribal
relations. Many think that this system of governance means everyone should go back
to their ancestral place and whereas majimbo would be a viable system it
nevertheless causes disintegration as indigenous inhabitants target “outsiders” or
those that have migrated to those regions over time (DN. 31 July 2009). The
responses received had the majority supporting such a system. It is in the
researcher’s view that those that refuted such a system were caught up in the
misinformation that has plagued the name majimbo. All of those in support added
that such a system needed re-educating of the electorate or changing the name to
avoid distortion. It became apparent also that this system is already in place
disguised as Constituency Development Fund (CDF) that is disbursed centrally to
each region and managed by that receiving region.
3.4 Conclusion
From the above analysis, Kenya has acute challenges ahead to ensure restoration of
confidence to the people. President Kibaki enjoyed “a honeymoon with the
electorate” (Cobbold and Mills et al 2004 p. 69) after a landslide win in 2002 but by
failing to action the Memorandum of Understanding (ODM Manifesto 2007 passim)
that had brought NaRC together quickly raided his government off the trust it had
generated. His second term leaves one wondering whether Kenyans are surely
better off. The challenges that lie ahead are no easy task and a lot needs to be done

49
to get a grip of state management. Public institutions need behavioural change and
sector competent directors as opposed to partisan appointments and with the
looming global climate change food production ought to be re-engineered as a matter
of urgency. Unemployment, uneducated and poverty is a another thorn in the current
government that needs tackling and a range of many other issues that result in elite
wrangles trickling down to become tribal differences. Tribal associations such as
GEMA and KAMATUSA can act as awakening councils similar to the Al-Sahwa in
Iraq (Alawsat 2007 passim). They can be used by the government to disseminate
information on behalf of the government to rural areas because of their accessibility
to tribes.

The Role of Tribe on State Management - Kenya a case study

The Role of Tribe on State Management - Kenya a case study

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