Once upon a time, there was a strong institution known as a political party founded on principles as opposed to belonging to an ethnic group or an alliance thereby. Kenya’s first political parties on the eve of independence were such institutions. They were parties of principles albeit tinged with some ethnic element. Unfortunately, this ethnic […]
Learn More...How to Play “Father”: Raila’s Lost Moment?
Admire and love him or disparage and hate him, Raila Amolo Odinga is the most seasoned prominent politician still active on the national scene. The man has a career spanning over thirty years something that is unrivalled by any of his contemporaries. It is, therefore, little wonder that Kenyans are wont to bestow him with […]
Learn More...VOTES THAT BIND: ETHNIC POLITICS AND THE TYRANNY OF NUMBERS
The Kenyan elections at the beginning of March 2013 were saluted as historic but they weren’t. They were only “historic” in as far as the elections were undertaken under the new constitutional dispensation. The most distinctive element of the latter is devolved power and deconcentration of governmental functions from Nairobi closer to the grassroots. As […]
Learn More...From the outside looking in – An unconventional review for an eccentric book
Miguna succeeds in peeling back the mask of his former boss Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and several other high-ranking actors in the national political drama. But Miguna also hides his own failings behind the mask of many words.
Learn More...Kenya: Postcolonial imperial hangover – A note of caution to the Mombasa Republican Council
I distinctly remember watching on television with concern how young men from the Coast province of Kenya were ambushed and rounded up by security forces who busted them in the midst of military training with homemade wooden rifles a few years ago. Given the ragtag nature of this wannabe “army,” my initial reaction was to […]
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