Kenya
The Republic of Kenya performs in the mid-range across all four categories of the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) framework and is among the world’s top 25 per cent of countries with regard to the factors Effective Parliament and Civic Engagement. Comparing 2023 to 2018, Kenya has experienced significant improvements in Elected Government and Absence of Corruption. A lower-middle income country, Kenya has the second largest economy in East Africa in terms of GDP and its main economic sectors are agriculture, manufacturing, logistics and technology. However, it has accumulated high levels of debt and has incurred difficulties financing its repayments, with the public debt ratio reaching alarming levels.
The early inhabitants of present-day Kenya were mostly migrants from other regions of Africa, before its coastal trade brought merchants and explorers from Arabia and Europe. It became a British Protectorate in 1895 and a colony in 1920. British colonial rule was marked by land dispossession, mass incarceration and violence. After gaining independence in 1963, Kenya experienced periods of both democratic and authoritarian rule. Kenya is religiously and ethnically diverse, but it has a long history of state-orchestrated violence and oppression, and elections are often a trigger for violence along ethnic lines. For example, the infamous post-electoral violence of 2007 and 2008 led to high-level investigations and transitional justice processes. The most notable of these included the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and investigations by the International Criminal Court. A new constitution introducing major reforms was promulgated in 2010. Kenya’s experiences with post-election violence also reflect the lasting significance of issues such as land tenure and inequality, all of which are at least partially rooted in British colonialism.
Due to ongoing armed conflicts in neighbouring states, Kenya hosts one of Africa’s largest refugee populations, the majority of which come from Somalia. Ethnic Somalis are perceived as a security threat by the Kenyan state due to terrorist attacks perpetrated in Kenya by the Somali-based militant organization, al-Shabaab Consequently, Kenya has become a strategic counter-terrorism partner for the United States and other western countries, though its counter-terrorism campaigns have been criticized for violating human rights. Police brutality and impunity constitute long-standing issues in Kenya, with the policing of the 2024 Anti-Finance Bill protests serving as the latest example. Corruption is also a major problem, especially with regard to bribery in public institutions, patronage and nepotism, procurement corruption and embezzlement. Climate change risks undermining Kenya’s governance and economic stability.
Kenya has made steady progress in Gender Equality throughout the last few decades, and commitments to advance gender equality are enshrined (although not fully implemented) in the country’s Constitution and legal and policy environment. Yet, women remain significantly disadvantaged, due to cultural, political, and economic factors. Limited control over benefits from resources such as land, as well as unequal and unpaid care work, discourage women’s participation in the economy, and gender-based violence including female genital mutilation remains prevalent.
Looking ahead, while the mostly peaceful 2022 elections indicated progress toward regularizing peaceful transitions of democratic power, the 2024 youth-led anti-government protests has revealed a crisis of legitimacy within the executive, the legislature and the police. Personal Integrity and Security, Predictable Enforcement and Freedom of Expression will therefore be key areas to watch moving forward. Additionally, increasing youth unemployment coupled with Kenya’s mounting national debt is another concern to watch and has the potential to impact Economic Equality and Basic Welfare.
(Last updated August 2024)
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
November 2024
Reports highlight surge in state-sanctioned abductions
In November, Kenya’s human rights commission reported a surge in state-sanctioned abductions in Kenya, raising concerns about a growing pattern of enforced disappearances linked to state-actors. A report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), an independent watchdog, described the situation as an “unprecedented wave” of abductions and killings targeting various individuals. In its report released on 20 November, KNCHR documented 74 enforced disappearances between June and November 2024, with 26 individuals still missing. Rights groups have warned that these cases reflect increasing impunity and a deteriorating human rights environment in the country.
Sources: Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Voice of America, Reuters, The Africa Report
June 2024
Dozens killed as police repress youth-led anti-tax protests
Dozens of Kenyans were killed and hundreds more injured as security forces cracked down on anti-Finance Bill protests. The legislation proposed tax increases on essential goods and services, prompting nationwide demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and the police. The protests differed from previous party-led events in that they were larger and organized by young people. While the protests were largely peaceful, on 25 June, protesters broke into and set fire to the national parliament after police officers opened fire on the crowds who has massed around the building. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported that at least 50 people were killed in relation to the protests, with several hundreds injured. Dozens of people have been reported missing and hundreds have been arbitrarily arrested. Rights groups have described the police’s use of live ammunition and tear gas as excessive. On 26 June, President Ruto said that he would withdraw the 2024 Finance Bill.
Sources: The Economist, Nation, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, OHCHR, The Africa Report, IPAEA, The Wall Street Journal
July 2023
Death toll rises in Kenya’s ongoing cost-of-living protests
The death toll in Kenya’s ongoing cost-of-living protests rose sharply in July, as planned tax increases prompted renewed demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and the police. No official tally of the fatalities was released by the government, with police reportedly instructed not to report them but, as of 21 July, civil society organisations had documented 27 fatal police shootings between 7 and 19 July. The police’s use of live ammunition and teargas to disperse stone-throwing protesters has given rise to allegations that use of force was excessive. Rights groups also alleged that the police beat protesters and arbitrarily arrested and detained them. Such allegations are not new in Kenya, where police brutality is widespread (130 police killings were reported in 2022), however there is growing civil society concern about the tactics employed by the police, including the use of armed plain clothes officers at protests. The cost-of-living protests began in March 2023.
Sources: The East African, Kenya Human Rights Commission, United Nations, Amnesty International, Missing Voices, Associated Press News, Daily Nation
February 2023
Supreme Court rules that refusal to register LGBTQIA+ organisation was unconstitutional
On 24 February, Kenya’s Supreme Court ruled that the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) must be allowed to register as an NGO. Upholding decisions by the High Court and the Court of Appeal, it found that the refusal of Kenya’s NGOs Coordination Board to register the NGLHRC was unconstitutional on the grounds that it limited the right to freedom of association based on sexual orientation. In its judgement, the Court clarified that the country’s penal code does not permit such a limitation because, while it criminalizes same-sex sexual acts, it does not criminalize homosexuality. The decision was welcomed by the NGLHRC, whose executive director said, ‘at a time where the Kenyan LGBTQIA+ community is decrying the increased targeting and violence, this decision affirms the spirit and intention of the Constitution to protect all Kenyans and guarantee their rights.’ However, it has been met by fierce criticism from politicians and religious leaders, who characterised it as a threat to Kenya’s moral values.
Sources: Kenya Supreme Court Judgement, National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Pink News, The Africa Report
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