Singapore's success in minimising corruption can be attributed to its dual strategy of reducing both the opportunities and incentives for corruption, while Kenya’s failure to eliminate graft is the result of a half-hearted anti-corruption crusade that is politically weaponised and applied selectively.
The rigid distinction between “the tolerant secularist” versus the “barbaric religious fundamentalist” in today’s discourse on the global War on Terror has been employed to justify the extreme measures taken against so-called Islamic terrorist groups.
Many believe that the pact between Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto prior to the 2013 elections ensured peace in the Rift Valley – the epicentre of the post-election violence of 2007/8 – and delivered the duo the presidency. DAUTI KAHURA speaks to Kikuyus who are wondering why Uhuru has now abandoned Ruto, and whether this politics of betrayal will have a devastating impact on the Kikuyu “diaspora” in the Rift.
It is clear, given Jubilee’s approach since 2013, that managing the Kenyatta succession—fixing an increasingly broken economy, soothing our polarised politics in time for the next general election, dealing with corruption comprehensively enough that Kenyatta can walk into the sunset with something of a legacy—makes for too many governance balls in the air for even the best of political jugglers.
As we start the new year, The Elephant editors have looked at some of their favourite stories over the past year, that stirred debate, provoked thought and produced new knowledge to the ongoing re-imagination of state and society. It was a great year of exceptional work for the knowledge platform and as part of The […]
MARY SERUMAGA explains why it is important to maintain sovereignty in the management of natural resources and to carry out robust and representative feasibility and environmental impact studies on large dam projects, which tend to be shrouded in secrecy and which are often the vehicles for high-level corruption.
Is the BBI a pact between the Luo and Kikuyu elite? If so, how will it impact the 2022 elections? DAUTI KAHURA uncovers surprising reactions to the BBI report among two of Kenya’s most politically influential ethnic communities.
AKOKO AKECH explains why the BBI is a revisionist project and a mock test of a political formula that has sabotaged Kenya’s democracy since independence.
KALUNDI SERUMAGA explores France’s paternalistic and exploitative colonial pact with some West African countries, and explains why those who resist this arrangement are quickly silenced.
Is the West’s renewed interest in promoting human rights in Uganda a genuine attempt at bringing about democracy and eliminating corruption, or is it based on the commercial interests of a superpower intent on reducing China’s influence in Africa?
