BY: JUMA HEMEDI M.
Worth Noting:
- This law was also the one used to govern the registration of associations including women organizations and football clubs according to the information at the registrar of political parties. This in effect made political parties private associations. It was not until 2007 when the political parties act was passed with an objective of providing registration, regulation and funding of political parties. The rest they say is history.
- By the time the 2010 constitution was coming to effect, Kenyans had had enough of the political space getting controlled only by political parties and Article 85 was included to provide for the eligibility of candidates who wished to contest the elections as Independent candidates.
Political parties concluded their party primaries last week. According to the IEBC 2022 elections calendar, all parties were to have concluded this important exercise by 22nd April 2022. While some parties chose to have the option of universal suffrage many others chose to use what they termed as “scientific” approach of selecting candidates and issuing direct nominations. All these methods are allowed in law.
To the candidates who were nominated, the exercise was free and fair and to those who did not get the coveted party nomination, the exercise was shambolic and lacked transparency.
Many who felt aggrieved did not file nomination appeals with their party structures choosing instead to run as independents while others sighted exorbitant filing fees and lacking confidence and faith in the appeals process. Granted, political parties nomination exercises are usually the greatest test of parties’ internal democracy and fairness. Since independence, winning a popular party ticket was a sure way of getting to the National assembly and local authorities.
At independence Kenya only had two political parties KANU and KADU. In 1964 KADU dissolved to join KANU. Two years later differences between Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Odinga led to the formation of Kenya Peoples Union KPU in 1966. The concerns raised included ideological, leadership struggles and repression of dissent within KANU. Three years later in 1969, KPU was banned and Kenya became a de facto one party state. The law was amended in 1982 to formally make Kenya a one party state officially.
As the pressure for multiparty picked up, the law was amended again and multi-party was re-introduced in Kenya. This is where the problem started. While section 2(A) was repealed, there was no law to govern the registration of political parties. Political parties were registered by the registrar of societies under the societies act cap (108).
This law was also the one used to govern the registration of associations including women organizations and football clubs according to the information at the registrar of political parties. This in effect made political parties private associations. It was not until 2007 when the political parties act was passed with an objective of providing registration, regulation and funding of political parties. The rest they say is history.
By the time the 2010 constitution was coming to effect, Kenyans had had enough of the political space getting controlled only by political parties and Article 85 was included to provide for the eligibility of candidates who wished to contest the elections as Independent candidates.
In 2013 elections less than 5 members of the National Assembly were elected as Independents. Five years later in 2017, 13 members of the National assembly were elected as independents, while others were elected in small parties. This number is set to rise in the 2022 elections. So far more than 3,000 people have applied to contest as independents in the August elections and the number is set to rise.
The rise of independent candidates is a cause for worry especially to big political parties in Kenya as they woo voters into voting them to form government and take control of the legislature both at the National and county level. While parties only care about numbers they will have to enable them pass their agenda in Parliament, they turn a blind eye in the kind of individuals they nominate for office and even lack internal mechanism to deal with those of their elected leaders who steal public resources, embezzle and misappropriate public funds such as CDF and development money through dubious contractors and other acts of omission and commission.
Political parties have also been accused of issuing nomination certificates to anyone with money and connections irrespective of their integrity, ethics, qualifications or education. As one famous American once characterized “any one with money can get elected into office”. This has made the political and democratic space only a preserve of the rich, famous, patronage and charlatans.
This does not necessarily mean that political parties do not nominate good focused leaders, they do. But party politics more often than not end up corrupting them into agendas that do not seem to serve “Wanjiku”.
After failing the jubilee nominations in 2017 Laikipia Governor ran as an Independent and captured the seat, he was recently cited in a report as having greatly improved in, own source of revenue in the county through reduction of license fees charged by the county. The reduction increased compliance and this resulted in more revenue collections. Those that would have ordinarily failed to pay were able to comply.
Wanjiku will make a choice for president this August. What she needs to do is make sure that she elects as many independent candidates as possible into parliament and the county assemblies to help safeguard her interests. Independent candidates act as a catalyst to the excesses of both Majority and minority sides in the house.
They enrich debates by ensuring quality in motions, and laws passed. They can introduce private members’ bills that will seek to improve the situation of the common mwananchi without being partisan and without outside influence. They can independently vote for or against a bill and have a chance of being unbiased.
Voting culture in Kenya has evolved since independence, and it took a different turn during the 2017 elections. Voters have gone against political waves before and they will do it again this year. They have learnt to separate wheat from the chaff and analyze candidates not based on their parties or their colors, but based on the individual characters, their integrity, capacity and their actions.
I’m excited for the 2022 outcomes.
Juma Hemedi Mwaniki (independent candidate)
MP Thika- 2022
#WeTakeThikaSeriously
Dennis Dibondo