In my opinion, the Kenyan elections were neither valid nor credible. Even having received the label of “free and fair” by various election observers, there were too many aggravating factors that would make us think otherwise: the fact the head of the IEBC ITC was tortured and murdered just days before the election, the fact that votes took 4 days to count (compared to France’s mere 8 hours), the fact that the opposition’s IT and political consults were deported just a day before the election took place, and at $25 spent per capita, this was the most expensive election in the world that certainly did not deliver on the transparency and accountability it ought to have guaranteed. The recent decision by the Supreme Court supports this judgement, and it is almost laughable to think that independent observers would call this “free and fair”.
“They say power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely. In light of the recent Kenyan election cycle, many of us are left feeling despondent, angry, and frustrated with the seeming inability of leaders – both in the current government and opposition parties – to put aside their political hubris, despotic tactics, and short-sighted selfishness, and do that which they are mandated to do: to serve the people.
I could spend my time bemoaning the outcomes of the recent election, what with the $25 per capita spent on the entire process (making it the most expense electoral process in the world), the torture and the murder, the disappearances, the media censorship, and the general distrust all round – but by now we are well aware that the events leading up to and following the 8th of August 2017 were neither free nor fair. The recent decision by the Kenyan Supreme Court to nullify the elections was a reflection on this, and we can take away some hope that there are those in power who will not stand aside as the demagogues try to have their way.
The truth is that these are all symptoms of a much deeper rot in Kenyan politics, and Africa in general. What we really ought to ask ourselves is what kind of political culture allowed these events to occur in the first place.
There is a deep mistrust in Kenyan politics – trust between politicians, trust between opposition parties, trust between people and the government, and trust for the electoral system as a whole. History plays a part here – people still suffer from the memory of the election violence of 2007 (where as many as 1400 people died), and conceding power is something that politicians seem to struggle with.