Going Federalism! A Reality or an Option? : Redefining Kenya

Abstract

Countries exist to meet the expectations of its constituents in both economic and political terms. For multinational states such as Kenya, attaining this is a very big challenge knowing the history since independence to date. Though constitutions and systems of governance within it in „democratic dispensation‟ require individuals competing to be in charge of resource distribution and charting the development agenda, this does not seem to be quite the case. Devolution, a „semi-federal‟ system anchored on resource distribution was a cheered milestone but lacked a historical politico dynamic reality for multinational states as Kenya. In the wake of silent desires since independence by many Kenyans; first for federalism, secondly to have their nationalities occupy the state leadership, and thirdly, the existence of continuous mono-ethnic dominance perpetuated by ethnic demographic strengths, there is a marked pointer to inherent problems with the Kenyastate. While strongly believing that Kenya like any African state needs to be redefined to weigh workability of unitary state and federalism, going federalism is more of a reality than an option. This paper thinks to propose that it is time Kenya thought of going federated states way while maintaining devolution, creating a ceremonial national leadership position, and having thriving semi-autonomous states with presidents at federal units. Using narrative design and thematic presentation, the paper looks at similar and relevant literature and cases on this subject. This study justifies its findings by the following objectives; examining the desire for federalism and its history in Kenya, finding the origins of the challenges of the Kenya-state, and finally assessing the ethnic politics and governance patterns in Kenya.