Showing posts with label Kenya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenya. Show all posts

Monday, 27 August 2018

Kenyatta-Trump Meeting: The 'Big 4'- AGOA Conundrum

By Muthuma Njenga
President Kenyatta is scheduled to meet his counterpart POTUS Donald Trump at White House, Washington on Monday 27 August. The much anticipated and hyped meeting presents a chance for the two head of States to formally engage for the first time since the election of Donald Trump, with discussions ranging from trade to security issues. The visit maintains its traditional skewed development nature: Kenya seeking to get more funding (aid) in its 'Big 4' development programmes and regional security initiatives (Somalia mission). Kenya will also be seeking to maximize on preferential trade deals and opportunities and signing new ones. This comes at a time when US and China are locked in tariffs confrontation which could lead to a trade war, in this scenario Kenya proves to be an important pawn if there were to be a trade war between the two global economic giants, owing to the fact that Kenya is the economic gateway to the eastern region of the continent.

Trade discussions are expected to stretch to Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), where the US is mulling on replacing 18-year multilateral program with preferential bilateral programs with respective African states, Kenya being fronted as one of the first States to benefit from the new program. The ministries of foreign affairs and trade and industrialization are keen to clinch the deal which has its shortcomings and poses a threat to 'Big 4'.

President Uhuru Kenyatta. Picture courtesy 
Under manufacturing pillar, Textile and leather industries are key sub-sectors which the Kenyan government want to revive. Their revival terms and solution has been easy: reduce inflow of cheap second-hand clothes into the country. Prior to the Big 4, EAC head of States had sought to revive the textile industry in the region. They directed ministers of trade to draft regulations to guard local textile and leather products back in 2015. The ministers presented a draft policy document whose main recommendation was a joint restriction on imported second hand clothes and shoes. The draft policy was adopted unanimously and was set to be implemented by 2018. However only Rwanda took the leap of faith and courage by slapping imported second hand clothes and shoes with the agreed 25% EAC joint tariff. This causing a possible trade confrontation between Rwanda and US (which benefits highly from exporting second hand clothes), where US threatened to withdraw AGOA privileges from Rwanda.

Kenya and its two counterparts Uganda and Tanzania choose to stick to a 'pragmatic' policy of wait and see, and eventually 'chickened out' of the agreed tariff proposal. Defending Kenya's move former industrialization CS Adan Mohammed cited effects of the burn to importers and entrepreneurs of mitumba, and also considering the ultimate consequence; Kenya losing the AGOA privileges where it benefits greatly by exporting textile and apparels products. which are very valid justifications, but do not offer a long-term solution to the crippled local textile and Leather industries.

The Kenyan delegation will be faced with a great task of balancing between AGOA and Big 4. On big 4, they will seek funding to revive the local textile industry, and on the other hand the Kenyan delegation will have to appease the US delegation by caving in on mitumba restrictions so as to clinch the new bilateral deal, with the latter likely to carry the day. We might gain one and loose the other but we will certainly, never gain both.

Muthuma Njenga
International Relations Student
Technical University of Kenya

Thursday, 16 August 2018

Uhuru Kenyatta's Foreign Policy; More Assertive and Focused

President Uhuru Kenyatta will in the coming three weeks meet with the world’s top three nations. He will be hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House on 27 August, before playing host to British Prime Minister Theresa May on 30 August. President Kenyatta will then be hosted by Chinese President in the first week of September. Speaking on the visits, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Monica Juma spoke on the importance of the three countries in relations to President Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda. “America is one of our greatest supporters in the counterterrorism effort [], the discussions are strategic and valuable,” said Amb. Juma. She also spoke on the special relationship with the UK pointing out that Kenya has favorable balance of trade between it and its former colonial master.

Since the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013, Kenya’s foreign policy has been more assertive, engaging and strategic. In his first term in office, President Kenyatta forged a more Afro-centric foreign policy. This can be attributed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) involvement in Kenya and the subsequent efforts to lobby African states to defer the Kenya cases. President Kenyatta also made African diplomacy his key foreign policy objective in his first term in office. To show Kenya’s African focus diplomacy, the country fronted its Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed to contest the position of the African Union Commission. Despite her losing to Moussa Faki of Chad, it showcased Kenya’s ambition to cement her Afro-centric foreign policy.

After his reelection in 2017, President Kenyatta continued to commit to an Afro-centric foreign policy. During his inauguration on 28 November 2018, he underscored Kenya’s commitment to Pan-Africanism with a pledge to all Africans visiting Kenya to be eligible for a visa upon arrival. He also promised that all East African will be treated as Kenyans and they will be free to “work, do business; own property, farm and [..] and marry and settle in Kenya”.

President Uhuru Kenyatta with China's President Xi Jinping

President Kenyatta’s appointment of Amb. Monica Juma to head the MFA further reinforces his foreign policy ambitions. She is a career diplomat and an academic who has written on Kenya’s peace and security policies. Her entry into the MFA has brought scholarly rigor into Kenya’s diplomacy. She was instrumental in Kenya’s push to defer the ICC cases at the African Union – and has been described as an excellent behind the scenes operator.

Under President Kenyatta, Kenya has showed that it wants to take charge in regional and international issues. Through the five diplomatic pillars of Kenya’s foreign policy, President Kenyatta is going about strengthening Kenyan interests globally. The meeting with US President Donald Trump will further strengthen the trade ties between the two states. Kenya also remains America’s key ally in the region. The meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing will also bolster trade and investments and enhancing manufacturing – which is one of the President’s Big Four Agenda.

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Speculating Magufuli’s absence at Uhuru Kenyatta’s Inauguration

29 November 2017
As I drove on the Thika Superhighway on the weekend before Uhuru Kenyatta’s inauguration on Tuesday, the road was decorated with flags of different countries. At the foot-bridge next to National Youth Service (NYS) Headquarters, the Tanzanian flag flew sublimely. Other flags including the Nairobi City Council flag decorated the Thika Superhighway that headed towards Kasarani, the venue of the inaguration. The Office of the Government Spokesman in Tanzania, had on 24 November issued a press statement saying that President John Magufuli would attend Mr. Kenyatta’s swearing in on 28 November. Days before Mr. Kenyatta’s inauguration, NASA leader Raila Odinga, a close friend to Mr. Magufuli flew to Zanzibar, where it is reported that the two met. Mr. Odinga’s trip to Zanzibar which came a few days after he jetted back to Nairobi from an overseas trip sparked debated and controversy.
President Kenyatta, President Magufuli and NASA leader Raila Odinga
On the inauguration day, Tanzania’s State-House issued a press release saying that Vice President Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan had arrived in Nairobi, where she was to represent President Magufuli. Several Kenyan media quickly labeled this as a Magufuli snob of the inauguration. Even before the official statement from the Tanzanian government, there was speculation whether Magufuli would have attended the swearing in. A few weeks back, Tanzania and Kenya had a frosty diplomatic incident. The Tanzanian government had auctioned 1,000 cows that belonged to Maasai pastoralists that had crossed into Tanzania for pasture. Veterinarians in Tanzania earlier in the month of November burned over 6,000 chicks which had been illegally imported from Kenya. Following the auctioning of the cows, President Magufuli made outrageous remarks saying “Tanzania is not a grazing land for cattle from a neighboring country.” This statement was not received well in Kenya. Tanzania-Kenya relations have in the past been frosty and these two episodes in November can explain the relations.

Tanzania politics and the 2017 Kenyan Elections
President Magufuli and Mr. Odinga are close friends since their days as ministers of public works in their respectful countries. Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema was known to be close to Mr. Odinga’s party ODM. In the elections of 2007 and 2013, Chadema provided campaign support to Mr. Odinga and his party. Tanzania’s ruling party CCM, though not stated outright, has been friends with Kenya’s ruling parties – KANU and Mr. Kenyatta’s party Jubilee. Tanzania’s former president Jakaya Kikwete was seen as a close friend to the Kenyatta government. The defection of Edward Lowassa from CCM to Chadema in 2015 saw Chadema rescind its support for Mr. Odinga. Mr. Lowassa was a close friend to Mr. Kenyatta and Chadema’s retraction from supporting Mr. Odinga and his party ODM was no brainer. As the old saying goes “a friend of my enemy is my enemy” meant that Chadema had to shift allegiances as a party and openly declared support for Kenyatta’s reelection in 2017. CCM as a party remained silent on this. Mr. Lowassa was invited by the Jubilee Party in a number of campaigns in Maasai areas, where he campaigned for Kenyatta.

Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan with President Uhuru Kenyatta
NASA Tallying Center in Tanzania?
During the presidential TV debate, Mr. Odinga was asked to clarify the allegation that his coalition’s tallying center was in Tanzania. During this debate skipped by Mr. Kenyatta, Odinga was evasive and played down the allegation. This episode, though never clarified further pointed to the closeness between Odinga and Magufuli. It was even speculated that President Magufuli was offering some campaign logistical support to Mr. Odinga. Outspoken Kenyan MP Moses Kuria even said that Magufuli was conspiring with Raila Odinga to rig the elections.  It was evident during the campaign season in Kenya that Mr. Lowassa and Chadema were courting Mr. Kenyatta and his Jubilee Party hoping that they would reciprocate in the 2020 elections in Tanzania.

Inauguration Day
After been sworn in, Mr. Kenyatta in elaborate speech said that Kenya would treat citizens from the East African community like Kenyans and that “they will only need a national identification card to travel, work, do business, own property, farm and even marry and settle in Kenya.” As he made this pledge, the television cameras beamed at Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame. If President Magufuli had attended, then the television cameras would have focused on him. Tanzania has been accused of dragging the integration process through restrictive policies. As a Tanzanian who has grown up and lived in Kenya, this promised by Kenyatta was a welcome one. “We only hope that Tanzania would reciprocate,” one of my friends told me. The inauguration was attended by about 47 foreign delegations and heads of states. At the luncheon at State House, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the African leaders where they discussed various bilateral and multilateral issues.


President Kenyatta attended Maguguli's inauguration in 2015
Speculating Magufuli’s absence

Tundu Lissu in Hospital in Nairobi
Images of VP Samia Suluhu Hassan visiting shot opposition MP Tundu Lissu at a Nairobi hospital were released on Tuesday evening after the inaguration. She was, according to the reports conveying greetings from President Magufuli. A Financial Times newspaper report on the shooting of Tundu Lissu was also released on Tuesday. In the report, Lissu blamed president Magufuli, where he alleges that it because of his criticism of his government. Had President Magufuli attended the inauguration, it was expected that he would have visited Lissu in hospital just like the Vice President did. “Greet the president, tell him am thankful,” Lissu told Mama Samia Suluhu. With the FT report, Magufuli’s meeting with Lissu would have been extremely awkward.


VP Samia Suluhu visits MP Tundu Lissu
Lowassa as a special guest
Mr. Lowassa just like former President Kikwete were officially invited to the event. Kikwete through his official Twitter page congratulated Uhuru Kenyatta, but said he was not able to attend due to prior engagement. Having shown support to Kenyatta, Lowassa savored the occasion. He sat together with his wife Regina at the VIP dais smiling and relaxed – maybe praying that Mr. Kenyatta will in 2020 attend his inauguration!  

Magufuli had other ‘serious’ engagements
President Magufuli has recently lamented that being a president is “frustrating.” As he spoke during his abrupt visit at the port in Dar es Salaam, Magufuli decried the lack of will to fight corruption in the country. Since assuming office in 2015, Magufuli has made a handful of international travels with Ethiopia the furthest he has gone. Magufuli may just be consumed by domestic obligations which have curtailed his international travels. His party CCM had just won by a ‘landslide’ in the councilor elections. Maybe he was savoring the ‘victory’ at home. You never know!                

Monday, 20 November 2017

Kenya's Supreme Court Upholds Uhuru Kenyatta's victory

The Supreme Court of Kenya upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's controversial win after it had ordered a fresh elections in a judgement on 1 September 2017. A fresh election which was boycotted by the main opposition NASA, was conducted on 26 October. Uhuru Kenyatta won by 98.2% in an election that witnessed extreme low voter turnout. Two petitions were filed challenging his victory. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision concluded that the petitions challenging Mr. Kenyatta's victory lacked merit. 

Thursday, 27 July 2017

Political and Ethno-Demographic Calculations in NASA’s Endorsement of Governor Mandago

All politics is local. It is kitchen sink time ahead of the anticipated general elections in Kenya on 8 August. The two leading political outfits Jubilee and NASA are crisscrossing the country in attempt to win the hearts of people. Incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta snubbed the president’s debate citing it as a “waste of time” much to the chagrin of the Kenyan people. His die-hard supporters have however, defended his decision. His close competitor Raila Odinga chose to attend the debate and with the latest Infotrak showing he has a one-point lead to President Kenyatta, he will definitely be buoyed and confident going into the elections. A corresponding Ipsos poll however, shows Uhuru in the lead. Much of the campaign message after the debate has been about the decision of Uhuru to skip the debate.

Despite this spin, one interesting thing happened during NASA’s campaign in Uasin Gishu county. In an area known to be the bedrock of Jubilee support, it is largely expected that NASA will get very few votes. However, with the local ethno-demographic and political play, NASA has seen an opportunity to eat-into the Jubilee votes.

Ethno-demography in Uasin Gishu County

Incumbent governor Jackson Mandago who won the Jubilee nominations in April, 2017 is facing a tough reelection. His closest and fiercest opponent is Zedekiah Kiprop Bundotich alias Buzeki who is an independent candidate. These two had actually squared off in the Jubilee nominations with Mandago defeating Buzeki – who felt aggrieved and decamped and is now running as an independent. Buzeki is known to be wealthy and as the story goes, enjoys the support of the Deputy President William Ruto – the Rift Valley kingpin. A recent poll by Infotrak indicates that Buzeki (54%) is ahead of Mandago (42.1%) in the governor’s race. Buzeki has been gaining momentum since his decision to run as an independent.

In June, the Star Newspaper wrote an analysis of the battle-royal between the two – saying that Buzeki was no storm in a teacup. The analysis indicated that Mandago, who is an ethnic Nandi – the majority in the Kalenjin tribe is a poor orator and lacks charisma to pull crowds. The ethno-demography is further evidenced in Buzeki who is a Keiyo – another subtribe of the Kalenjin and married to a Kikuyu. The historicities of the ethnic politics in Rift Valley and Kenya are known to play a key factor in elections. Kenya’s political culture is read through ethnic mobilization and balkanization. That notwithstanding, the interplay between the Nandi-Keiyo/Kikuyu in Uasin Gishu is threatening the reelection of Mandago. Deputy President William Ruto has pleaded with Buzeki to drop his bid but Buzeki remains adamant that he wants the governorship position. Mandago has “accused” the Kikuyus in Uasin Gishu of supporting his opponent – something he says is not good for Jubilee unity. Reports indicate that a Kikuyu interest group in the county would prefer Buzeki, their in-law to safeguard their interests.

NASA Prey in Uasin Gishu

The continuing ethno-demographic mobilization in the county has enticed the opposition NASA – who like the proverbial grasshopper fight that benefits the crow. Earlier, there was talk that a Buzeki withdrawal from the rest would have forced his supporters to vote for NASA. However, with Buzeki still in the race, NASA has decided to wade in. Speaking in Eldoret, NASA leaders pledged support for Mandago. “If I was voting here in Eldoret, I would have voted for Mandago,” said NASA running mate Kalonzo Musyoka. On his part, Moses Wetangula said that he stood with Mandago because he was “oppressed”. Bomet governor Isaac Rutto also weighed in sending greetings to Mandago much to the jubilation of the crowd. The thinking of NASA is that a section of Jubilee leaders is backing Buzeki and not Mandago.

NASA game plan

NASA’s endorsement of Mandago can be analyzed in three ways. Firstly, NASA and indeed Mandago, believe that William Ruto is supporting Buzeki. They say the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Through this endorsement, NASA sees an opportunity of receiving presidential votes in Uasin Gishu from Mandagao supporters. What will it take to have Mandago supporters, who are also Jubilee supporters to vote for Raila Odinga of NASA? This remains highly unlikely. Jubilee has found it hard to sell its six-piece voting pattern especially in areas that it enjoys massive following such as in Central Kenya and in Rift Valley. However, on the ethno-demographic balance, NASA could receive rebel votes from Mandago Jubilee supporters as well as from other NASA allied tribes living in the county. The script here is again focused on 2022 succession politics of DP William Ruto – who wants to have his “men” ahead of his anticipated 2022 presidential bid.

Secondly, with the tightness of the elections as predicted by two polls Infrotrak and Ipsos, the game plan for NASA seems to also focus on a potential runoff. If Buzeki wins the race, Mandago livid and disfranchised supporters will be inclined to vote for Raila Odinga in the runoff -  thus tipping the scales in favor of NASA. This is a futurist calculation which NASA hopes to cash on in the event there is a runoff.

Governor Mandago and William Ruto 
Thirdly, NASA’s endorsement of Mandago’s is a crafty attempt to eat into Rift Valley votes having already done so with the inclusion of renegade Bomet governor Isaac Rutto. With the ethno-demographic interplay, it is expected that NASA will eat into the Jubilee stronghold of Rift Valley. Aware that the electoral dynamics change every day, it remains to be seen if the new-found NASA love for Jubilee’s Mandago will yield any success.    

Monday, 10 July 2017

Campaign Songs and the 2017 Elections in Kenya

With the Kenyan elections at fever pitch you must have heard NASA’s campaign song “Tibim” and Jubilee’s “Tano Tena”. I look at how the campaigns have been shaped by the songs adopted as campaign songs by the two-leading political entities in Kenya.

Since the wave in the reintroduction of multiparty electoral politics in Africa in the 1990s, the world has been treated to the ups and downs that have come with multiparty elections in Africa. Africa has come a long way in electoral politics. Nic Cheeseman in his book Democracy in Africa: Successes, Failures and the Struggle for Political Reform brings out the challenges to democratic consolidation in Africa citing the examples of numerous states. I have taken much interest in elections and election studies in Africa, reading numerous works by both Western and African scholars who analyze the road to democracy in Africa. Particularly, I have been a keen follower of the Kenyan electoral process since 1997 when I was still in Primary School in Lukenya Academy. Having spent my entire formative years in Kenya, I have observed the electoral process since 1997 when President Daniel Moi was reelected. The 1997 elections were interesting, and as a young man, I recall the party symbols that were used. Moi and his party KANU had the ‘jogoo’ as the party symbols while Charity Ngilu’s SDP had the clock. She was a phenomenon then, people referred her “Masaa ya Ngilu”. Raila Odinga who ran on the National Development Party (NDP) had the symbol of a tractor – and people called him “Tinga”.

The elections of 2002 were historic in Kenya. With the merger of the opposition under the NARC umbrella, they were able to oust Moi’s project Uhuru Kenyatta. Mwai Kibaki was sworn in as president on a wheelchair at a memorable occasion in Uhuru Park. It was my final year in Primary School and the mood around the country was electric. The election in 2007 was followed by the unfortunate descent into election violence. ODM Party candidate Raila Odinga contested the election outcomes leading to reprisal communal attacks in many parts of the country. The 2013 elections ended up at the Supreme Court, where Raila Odinga’s coalition CORD unsuccessfully contested the outcome.

Siasa Kenya

Despite the ethnized nature of Kenyan politics, one interesting thing is the fanfare that characterizes the electioneering process. I have not known a day in Kenya where politics is not discussed. The end of an election in Kenya is the start of politicking and planning for the next election. There is never a dull moment in Kenyan politics. As part of my literature review for my PhD thesis, I have gathered a lot of material on elections and electoral politics in Africa. One text that has drawn me to the Kenyan elections in Multiethnic Coalitions in Africa: Business Financing of Opposition Election Campaigns written by Leonardo Arriola. The book looks at patronage politics, ethnic cleavages and democratization in Africa. Its analysis touches on the asymmetry between post-colonial Africa and the ethnic mobilization in countries in Africa. Kenya falls under this analysis of ethnic balkanization and ethnic mobilization in the form of coalitions. The rise of ethnic coalitions in Kenya is a testament of the deep lying ethnic issues in the country. Party populism in Kenya is based on how much an ethnic leader can marshall his tribesmen and those of other tribes’ people to outdo the others.

Creativity in Campaign Songs

Despite the doom and gloom, Kenyan politics remains interesting especially on the creativity in the campaigns. The 2017 elections have been made more interesting by the campaign songs. Campaign songs add to the glitz and glamor of elections. The two major coalitions Jubilee and the National Super Alliance (NASA) have incorporated campaign songs that mobilize the electorate. Whereas campaign slogans are aimed at capturing the attention of people during campaign rallies, campaign songs generally radiate the mojo of the electorates. Jubilee’s campaign slogan is “Tuko Pamoja” which translates to we are together while that of NASA is “Mambo Yabadilika” meaning Change.

The two parties don’t have official campaign songs but some local artists have crafted campaign songs that have been adopted by NASA and Jubilee in their campaign trail. Tanzania’s ruling party CCM is known to have good campaign songs which were composed by the Tanzania One Theatre (TOT) Band. In the 2015 elections for instance, CCM outdid its closest rival Chadema with the hit song “CCM Mbele kwa Mbele”. By all means, the song must have been the song of the year in 2015. It spoke to the CCM supporters and also lambasted the opposition in very crafty manner. “CCM ni ile ile, oh ni ile ile… mwaka huu watatukoma,” these were some of the lyrics that galvanized the CCM base.

Nasa Tibim, Raila Tibim!

NASA has several songs that it has adopted for its campaign. Going by their coalition slogan “Mambo Yabadilika” the NASA coalition has adopted Hellena Ken’s gospel song with the same title to signify their change message. The song by Hellen Ken has been popularized by the NASA coalition and it is now synonymous with them. Going by the change theme, a Luhyia artist Amos Barasa has released the song “Bindu Bichenjanga” singing about change. The glitzy Luo song “Tibim” by Onyi Jalamo has so far been the most reverberant NASA campaign song. “Tibim” song recognizes all the NASA leaders led by its presidential candidate Raila Odinga, running mate Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula among others such as the Nairobi governor Evans Kidero. These songs add to the glitz and fanfare at rallies before the leaders make their speeches. Artist Lawi has also added to the list of the NASA songs as well as Sweet Star, the Kalenjin artist who has a Kalenjin remix Tibim song. The NASA team has also used Tanzania’s hit song “Muziki” by Darassa featuring Ben Pol to respond to Jubilee’s attacks with Raila telling off President Kenyatta “Blah Blah sitaki kusikia” then he dances as the song rolls on. Raila, popularly known as “Baba”, “Tinga”, “Agwambo” or “Jakom” or “Joshua” has had many songs by his tribesmen which idolize and praise him. One example is that by lady Maureem titles “Raila Jakom”. Kamba artist Ken Wa Maria has also sung a song praising Kalonzo Musyoka titled “Kalonzo ika nesa” which is sang in campaign rallies before Kalonzo speaks.  

Kenyan top leaders share a joke 


Jubilee, Tano Tena!

Kikuyu Gospel artist Ben Githae has released a campaign song in praise of Jubilee and its leaders incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto. The song “Uhuru na Ruto Tano Tena” is a reminder of the much Jubilee has achieved in their first term in office and urges people to reelect them. The song in Swahili highlights the successes in the Jubilee administration. I have also come across a song by Kamande wa Kioi, a popular Kikuyu artist who sings praises to Uhuru Kenyatta. The song “Uhuru ni witu” sang in Kikuyu was a prayer request to have Uhuru freed from the ICC yoke before his election in 2013.

Onyi Papa Jay 2007 Song

However, the best campaign song has to be Onyi Papa Jay’s ODM song of 2007. The song combined Swahili and Luo lyrics to capture the process leading to the 2007 elections. The song gives a historical analysis of the formation of the ODM party. Combining Swahili and Luo narratives, the song gives details of the 2005 referendum that was won by the Orange team. The ODM team was led by the then Pentagon of Raila, Ruto, Mudavadi, Nyaga, Balala and Ngilu. Using Raila’s football commentary analogy, Onyi Papa Jay passionately narrates how ODM was going to beat PNU in the elections.


Campaign songs are important in mobilizing electorate around an agenda ahead of an election. Songs generally are an important medium of cultural expression in all societies. The campaign songs in Kenya explain the nature of Kenyan political landscape which is largely ethnic. However, the songs have also been embraced by the ethnic communities that make up the specific coalitions.   

Nicodemus Minde
Nairobi, Kenya
10 July 2017

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