Kenya’s 2017 polls will be remembered as the election of minor gains and confounding contradictions.
In the run up to polling, public discontent appeared to have been largely driven by the unprecedented sophistication in <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000181261/corruption-tribalism-conspire-to-hold-kenya-to-ransom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">graft</a> and <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Tribalism-Ethnicity-NCIC-Francis-ole-Kaparo/1064-2661730-6enm4cz/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tribalism</a> in the President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.
But both Kenyatta and opposition candidate Raila Odinga demonstrated a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/08/who-are-the-two-men-competing-to-be-president-of-kenya/?utm_term=.12bf77ed5942" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weak</a> <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000030197/raila-s-family-was-involved-in-maize-scandal-claim-us-cables" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commitment</a> to tackling corruption. In fact, neither of them articulated a bold agenda to <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Nasa-launches-manifesto/1064-3989916-fb7nmtz/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roll back</a> <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/06/26/uhuruto-launch-jubilee-manifesto-ahead-of-august-poll_c1586475" target="_blank" rel="noopener">graft</a>.
As the grand finale of a <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/kenya-elections-kenya-president-uhuru-kenyatta-raila-odinga-647526" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dynastic struggle</a> between the Odinga and Kenyatta families, both candidates boldly manipulated the ethnic formula while their supporters once again demonstrated a stubborn fixation with traditional voting patterns. This is reflected in the <a href="http://results.ke.nation.news/kenya/president.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">results </a>from the presidential candidates’ ethnic strongholds.
Despite these failings, the Kenyan people handed Kenyatta a comfortable second term.
On top of this, some of the blunders and disturbing <a href="https://www.hrw.org/blog-feed/kenya-elections-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trends</a> witnessed in previous elections were repeated. These included social media <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-options-for-kenya-as-an-impending-election-fuels-fear-of-hate-speech-71913" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hate speech</a>; a high-profile <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/04/probe-msando-murder-quickly-poll-observers_c1609972" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murder</a>; <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Kenya-presidential-election-results-2017/1056-4050770-format-xhtml-3s06wy/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor communication</a> from the electoral commission when it came to relaying results; inadequate voter education; and <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/09/video-raila-rejects-provisional-results-terms-them-fraudulent-fake_c1613061" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inflammatory statements</a> by leading figures when provisional election results were released.
<h2>Mixed results</h2>
At the national level, Kenyans seem to have repeated a monotonous script that suggests a resistance to learning from past mistakes.
At the micro level, the results were mixed, delivering both positive and negative outcomes. Promising candidates such as social-justice activist Boniface Mwangi, who campaigned on a platform of ethics and integrity, <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/09/boniface-mwangi-concedes-after-jaguar-takes-lead-in-starehe_c1613123" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a> to make the cut. But others, like Anne Waiguru, a former cabinet secretary implicated in <a href="http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2017/04/waiguru-routs-governor-ndathi-kirinyaga-jubilee-primary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corruption</a> and Professor Anyang Nyong’o, whose nomination was <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Tribunal-cancels-Anyang--Nyong-o-poll-victory/1064-3911590-12v5ncu/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contested</a> in the primaries, pulled through.
On the positive side, three women made forays into <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/09/kenyas-first-women-governors-ngilu-laboso-waiguru-flying-high-after_c1613173" target="_blank" rel="noopener">governorships</a> thus paving the way for more women to join the fray in future. And in some regions like Eastern Province, people resisted major political party dominance by re-electing <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001250828/governor-mutua-re-elected-as-wavinya-ndeti-vows-to-challenge-results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">individuals</a> from minor parties, which is laudable.
At the same time, some regions such as Rift Valley province maintained their strong Jubilee Party leanings as seen in the punitive ouster of <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001250744/early-results-show-ruto-trailing-laboso-in-bomet-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Isaac Ruto</a> who ditched the Jubilee Party for his own Chama cha Mashinani.
These dynamics are suggestive of a palpable tension between progress and the status quo. It remains to be seen which will prevail.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/06/15/will-decide-kenyan-election-dose-faith-tribe-hard-cash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What Will Decide The Kenyan Election? A Dose OF Faith, Tribe And Hard Cash</a>
<h2>Only one winner</h2>
Ultimately, there could only be one winner between the two presidential choices. President Kenyatta was poised to clinch a <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyatta-or-odinga-why-dynastic-politics-is-alive-and-well-in-kenya-80732" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second term</a> for obvious reasons. He is highly personable and seems to enjoy strong political chemistry with his supporters. He also boasts strong social media credentials – he skipped this year’s presidential debate, opting instead to directly engage his supporters on Facebook.
With the incumbency in his favour, he campaigned on the platform of his first term <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Uhuru-says-Jubilee-track-record-good-for-second-term/1064-4041342-h77pbs/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">track record</a> and projected the confidence to finish the job.
But there was also something more sinister that played in his favour. He has perfected the art of <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/raila-links-uhuru-family-to-alleged-loss-at-health-ministry/1056-3433818-mklw4iz/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insulating himself</a> from the <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Uhuru-sister-firm-listed-in-disadvantaged-group/1056-3434656-5st40t/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controversies</a> that have rocked his government. His deputy, William Ruto has been the shock absorber that has taken the flak over <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Ruto-fights-back-as-graft-fells-more-allies/1064-3095364-aavdffz/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alleged links</a> to various corruption scandals and political machinations.
The fact that Kenyatta has not been directly linked to corruption made him appear more trustworthy. Even though he has been sluggish in acting on graft and inefficiency, some of the minor cabinet shake-ups he stimulated seemed to have paid off.
Examples include Joseph ole Lenku’s <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000143316/interior-cabinet-secretary-joseph-ole-lenku-fired-as-inspector-of-police-david-kimaiyo-resigns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exit</a> as cabinet secretary for interior and the <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000183163/devolution-and-planning-cs-anne-waiguru-finally-bows-to-pressure-and-resigns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resignation</a> of the former devolution cabinet secretary, Anne Waiguru, to pave way for corruption investigations.
These actions helped him retain his 2013 strongholds while giving the impression that he can also act tough.
On top of this, his loyalty to his deputy who has often been portrayed as the <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001230917/the-incredible-rise-of-dp-william-ruto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corrupt villain</a>, enabled him retain a sizeable chunk of Ruto’s <a href="http://results.ke.nation.news/kenya/president.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backyard</a> – the Rift Valley voting bloc.
After securing a comfortable win, Kenyatta is no longer a political hostage who is constrained by the appeasement of first term allies. Does this mean that he’ll develop a firm hand to tackle some of the issues that have dogged his government? If he does, he might just turn out to be the political pill that the doctor ordered for Kenyans.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2016/10/01/kenya-crossroads-caps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kenya At A Crossroads With Caps</a>
<h2>End of an era</h2>
Raila Odinga, Kenya’s veteran political stalwart, has a strong track record as a champion for political reforms, and is <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/raila-odinga-olitics-kenya/1056-3945030-3vnfthz/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loved and disliked</a> in equal measure. This is the fourth time he has vied for the presidency and lost even though questions persist over the disputed <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Raila-won-2007-elections--says-Macharia/1064-3506012-q12oic/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2007</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/world/africa/voting-irregularities-in-kenya-election-are-confirmed.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2013</a> election results.
Odinga lost the 2017 elections for two reasons. Some voters buckled under the weight of “Raila fatigue” and <a href="https://www.tuko.co.ke/157874-raila-odinga-supporters-are-tired-of-voting-for-him-wetangula-video.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accompanying</a> <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/07/23/wetangula-rubbishes-railas-2017-election-bid_c1391000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disillusionment</a>. Both can be partly attributed to the fact that he has lost at every shot he’s made at the presidency.
Odinga <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Uhuru-woos-Raila-for-State-job-/1064-1849700-ysiy7b/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">missed the opportunity</a> to exit the political stage at the apex of his political calling.
Granted, several other issues worked against him such as a weak internal party democracy, allegations of corruption and a disorganised campaign machine. That said, he should now consolidate his legacy by nurturing other leaders who are passionate about social reforms.
For their part, the elections provide the Kenyan people with yet another opportunity to demand more accountability from the leaders they have voted into power. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yvonne-rowa-woods-347095" target="_blank" rel="author noopener">Yvonne Rowa Woods, </a>PhD Candidate in Politics and International Studies, University of Adelaide
Originally published in <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>
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Kenya’s 2017 poll: palpable tension between progress and the status quo

The polls were open, business was closed. Fourteen million Kenyans queued up across the country to cast their votes on March 4 in what many feared would be another violent election.
For most entrepreneurs it was far from business as usual. The Monday was declared a public holiday just after month-end when shoppers normally spend fistfuls of their hard-earned shillings. The violence of 2007 was fresh in many minds and for days the capital, Nairobi, was a ghost town.
“I remember very well December 27, 2007. When the problems arose it was just around the 31st of December, we had actually come to work. It was business as usual. Suddenly we had some police officers who came into the store and said we need to shut the store and go home. There is violence coming our way,” says Karim Fazal chairman of Little Red—a Nairobi luxury designer store.
Within the hour, on that fateful December day, a mob clashed with police just outside the store in Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, says Fazal. He was trapped in his store for nearly an hour with his workers, customers and passers-by, who were trying to shelter from the violence.
The unrest spread and flared into ethnic violence that left more than 1,200 people dead and 600,000 homeless. Rioters destroyed property and productivity collapsed. The country’s economy came to a standstill and the GDP growth for 2008 fell to the country’s lowest ever, 1.7%, on the cusp of the world economic crisis.
This time around, Fazal, along with other entrepreneurs, took expensive political risk insurance cover.
“The insurance charged us two shillings for every thousand shillings worth of goods and two shillings for loss of business which I took out for three months,” says Fazal.
At the very least, Kenyan insurance companies banded together to offer cheaper political risk insurance for business.
“Loss of business will not just be prevalent to the first two days, not the day for voting and not the following one. This will carry on until we get the election results out and that the results are accepted by all parties concerned until we see normalcy returning to the business environment,” says Fazal.
Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) promised free, fair and secure elections. The voting was so, bar violent clashes in Mombasa that claimed 19 lives—including four police officers. The announcement of results, in a two-horse race between presidential candidates Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, also proved peaceful.
“There seems to be a lack of security in the CBD, which will then lead to thugs taking advantage of the situation, which has been prevalent in Nairobi in the past few days because of the police being deployed at the polling centers to make sure things are peaceful. So in that way, we felt that there was lack of security,” says Fazal.
It took six hours for Fazal to cast his vote on March 4. His dream: the election of a leader who will bring peace and unity to Kenya; one who will also foster business.
“When you take the insecurity, the weariness and trepidations that we feel pre- and post-elections that should not be the case in this country. I am hoping for the next elections we will not have to look at this ever again,” concludes Fazal.
Millions of Kenyans are likely to agree.

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Kenya’s 2017 poll: palpable tension between progress and the status quo

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