Photo (Left) Kenyans walk past a destroyed house in the sprawling Kibera slums, which was one of the most affected areas during the post-election violence in 2007 (Antony Njuguna/ Courtesy Reuters)
In Kenya, the level of accountability among public officials in the management of public affairs has consistently declined since independence. The efficient and effective delivery of public services to citizens has also deteriorated. Despite the existence of a number of legal instruments and watchdogs institutions for regulating and monitoring the ethical standards of public officials, the management of public affairs by those who are entrusted with positions of authority in the country has not improved as Kenya remains one of the ten most corrupt countries in the world.
Like Nigeria, elections have long been decided along tribal lines. These dynamics underpinned the 2007-2008 post-election violence, which led to a lack of real accountability for politicians, policy-oriented politics and a lack of constructive engagement of voters to select leaders based on substance rather than ethnic considerations or money.