THE 2013 GENERAL ELECTIONS: DISINHERITING CONFLICTS FOR A

PEACEFUL KENYA

FINDINGS OF A NATIONWIDE RESEARCH ON “THE EFFECTS OF TRIBALISM ON THE

DEVOLVED GOVERNANCE SYSTEM.”

August 2012

THE 2013 GENERAL ELECTIONS: DISINHERITING CONFLICTS FOR A

PEACEFUL KENYA

©Jesuit Hakimani Centre, 2012,Nairobi Kenya

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©2012Published by Jesuit Hakimani Centre, Nairobi Kenya,

P.O. BOX 21399-00505, NAIROBI – KENYATel: +254 (020) 3597097, 3871008Cell: 0739 579 620

E-mail: hakimani@gmail.com, admin@jesuithakimani.orgWebsite: www.jesuithakimani.org

Jesuit Hakimani Centre (JHC) is a Centre for Social Concern in Eastern Africa. Since its inception, JHC has evolved into a centre continuously supporting local communities through formation in peace-building, governance, economic justice and research programmes. The centre responds to the increasing demands for informed responses by the citizenry to social justice issues and social transformation. The centre uses various strategies to reach out to the people, such as capacity building, advocacy, docudrama series to generate and initiate social conversation on system wide issues, participatory group learning projects and problem-based learning exercises through the following programmatic areas:

Economic Justice Programme gives prominence to policy discourses by conducting independent •research and advocates for better living standards of citizens.Peace-building Programme tackles both structural and cultural violence that disempower •individuals, communities and institutions. It aims to build structures that are responsive, enabling and equalising.Governance Programme enhances civic competence of both the citizens and government in the •protection of their rights as enshrined in the constitution and other forms of just law.Media, Research and Publication Programme embodies the social infrastructure upon which •Hakimani animates the agenda for social transformation. This is done through innovative use of new media technologies such as the mobile telephone and internet.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The generosity with which everyone associated with this nationwide research project showed on the fairly complex subject of ethnicity, creates a feeling of a journey of hope. It creates hope because the eagerness and depth of thought exhibited by all those interviewed seemed to direct our focus on the desire the Kenyan people have to discover the ‘other’ in their diverse being.

This nationwide study is aimed at situating the subject of tribalism within the on-going process of transition. In attempting to assess the extent to which tribalism is a potential threat to the emerging dynamics in the formation and eventual functioning of county governments as units of administration and service delivery to the Kenyan people, the research brings to the fore issues that might inspire stakeholders at both national and regional levels to devise strategies for conflict mitigation and reconciliation before, during and after the 2013 general elections. The study also offers insights into the texture of our conception of devolution and what it will mean for national processes.

As you turn the pages of this research, you may wish to join in appreciating the support and partnership of individuals and institutions that have, beyond expectation contributed to the completion of this noble cause. The Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and their interest in peace-building goes beyond the ordinary practices in development work; they are genuinely committed to a just world.

When we approached the Kenya Episcopal Conference – Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (KEC-CJPC) to jointly collaborate in conducting this study and subsequently organise a national conference, they gladly accepted and mobilised their members across the country to fully engage. For this we could like to specifically thank His Grace Rev. Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth, Chairman of KEC-CJPC, the national secretariat and diocesan justice and peace coordinators.

To our very own, the Eastern Africa Province of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) under the leadership of Fr Agbonkhianmeghe E Orobator, SJ, who have always supported and inspired Hakimani Centre to live creatively on the cutting edge of social transformation, thank you. Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations (HIPSIR) for their continuous support they have offered our initiatives demonstrates their commitment to peace and justice. Towards this ends, Dr Gaspar Sunhwa, SJ, Director of HIPSIR has always made available his faculty, students and facilities at our service.

We forever remain grateful to our research assistants across the country (their names listed at the back of this booklet) and my colleagues at Jesuit Hakimani Centre for their generosity, commitment and enthusiasm they have demonstrated in ensuring that this research was completed.

Finally, as anticipated at the beginning, we hope this study will be insightful, engaging and above all a journey of hope.

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Table of Contents

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Why would anyone spend resources investigating whether the County system of governance as envisioned in

the new Constitution will work when in the first place it has not been implemented? This would seem a genuine concern insofar as this research is framed.

When on August 27th 2010 Kenya ushered in a new Constitution, the hope for a better system was significantly raised. The fight for reforms over the years was recognized with the birth of the new Constitution. Decades of disorder were earmarked for demolition and construction of structures would emerge. Despair was turned into a new vision. Already the new, if repackaged, Kenya is under construction starting with the judiciary. Devolution of power to the County would be refreshing for those who have consistently opposed a centralized form of government that often privileges a few at the expense of the nation. As we move towards the 2013 general elections, this new system of governance is increasingly becoming a reality.

Questions regarding devolution that were not foreseen in the drafting of the new Constitution are now emerging. A quick example here is the complexity of the counties having to address the issue of diversity. The difference between the old County Council and the proposed new one are beginning to sink in. This is not only in the functions of the new County but also in the elevated expectations on qualifications of the person to run the County.

Moreover, one of the reasons why the County system was introduced was to check against tribalism, corruption, marginalization and inequality of resource distribution. Conversely, the new system is meant to increase public participation in the promotion and development of the common good. A people centred-approach has been designed.

As various interested parties position themselves for elective posts, a deeper reflection on the nature and character of the new County system seems appropriate. The central question then is: in what way are preparations and political campaigns interpreting the concept and chapter on devolution, and to what extent is this in line with the stipulations in the new Constitution? Additionally, are tribalism and the effects of the 2007/08 crisis likely to impact on the electioneering process and the subsequent new regime? As the Swahili say siku njema huonekana asubuhi (a good day starts in the morning). This research is meant to gauge how the initial beginnings of the implementation of the new Constitution are consistent with the public’s expectation of the objectives and benefits of the County system. It is hoped that both the government and the civil society will find this research useful for policy formulation at both national and county levels.

Objective(s) of the Study The aim of this study is to assess the extent to which tribalism is a potential threat to the functioning of county governance as units of administration and service delivery in Kenya. This process in turn is aimed at helping stakeholders at both national and regional levels to devise strategies for capacity building, conflict mitigation and reconciliation in the counties before, during and after 2013 general elections.

Methodology One of the interviewees for this research was a high-ranking judge. He loudly wondered why the research was necessary when the law is so clear on the specifics of implementing the new Constitution. Furthermore, the interviewee queried whether we were against the County system. This is precisely why the main approach used in this research is phenomenology. This is about experiences and the meanings we can judge about such experiences.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

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We aimed to interview 100 professionals and resourceful persons. A professional is defined, for the purpose of this research, as a person who has a specialized training in a body of knowledge. At a minimum, we sampled people with Masters level degrees and above. Resourceful persons are defined here as people who have a wealth of experience spanning five years and above in positions that are public in nature. A Chief, a Civil Society activist or a Ward Councillor often have interaction with the public even though such a person may not be academically highly qualified. In our purposive random sampling, we interviewed 52 professionals and 41 resourceful persons.

Based on initial responses from the interviewees, we structured a questionnaire into four main areas: governance, economic justice, reconciliation (peace building) and the media. However, we also added two thematic areas (HIV and AIDS and same sex marriage) that were not part of the list of questions put forth during the one-on-one interviews. These two areas are considered areas of near-future research. The research was conducted between May 14, 2012 and July 20, 2012. However, over 95% of the questionnaires were complete by the end of June.

The questionnaires were distributed nationwide to 30 Counties following figures in the 2009 national census. A total of 2500 questionnaires were administered with a 1.96% margin error appreciated. This sample size is justified as a complete unit sampling considering that a number of Counties share cultural, linguistic, political trends and related attributes.

All questionnaires were administered in English. Thus, only those who read and understand English were sampled. The availability of such respondents across the purposely and randomly sampled Counties was considered and deemed to have no disadvantage to any County. However, this meant that in some Counties, it took longer to identify respondents.

The subject matter of this research is considerably complex and therefore demands people with ability to read, interpret and make decision by themselves. Furthermore, the views of those sampled would substantially represent the views and similar experiences of those who were not sampled because of their inability to read and write by themselves. It is therefore valid to argue that this research reflects the minds and interests of the educated Kenyans.

The research has two main parts: qualitative and quantitative data presentation. For quick read, an executive summary has been provided as main research findings.

I hope you will find this research useful.

Dr Elias Mokua, SJ,

Director, Jesuit Hakimani Centre

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Area of study:This study covered 30 counties. However, the North-Eastern part was not covered due to security concerns.

Population of study and sample size:A sample of 2,500 respondents aged 18 years and above was interviewed to fill the questionnaire. The study sampled 56.74% males and 43.26% females. In each of the selected counties, respondents were selected by stratified random sampling in order to capture the opinions of members of the social classes. The following was considered; age, gender, and religion.

The distribution of questionnaires per age set was as shown in the table below:AGE GROUP

PERCENTAGE

18-24 years 27.6% 25-29 years 16.5 % 30-34 years 13.0 % 35-39 years 10.3 % 40-54years 19.1 %

55yrs & above 13.5%

Sample selection procedure:A confidence level of 95% is used in this study since it is used by many social researchers. In addition, a standard confidence interval of 1.96 is used.

Data analysis: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyse data. Quantitative data was analysed by the use of SPSS programme. This generated frequency tables, cross tabulation tables’ bar-graphs and charts for interpretation of the data.

Table showing number of questionnaires for each selected county:

COUNTY % OF SELECTED POPULATION

NUMBER OF QUESTIONNAIRES

MOMBASA1. 3.4 85KILIFI2. 4.0 100BUSIA 3. 1.7 42NANDI 4. 2.7 68MARSABIT 5. 1.1 27ISIOLO 6. 0.5 13SIAYA 7. 3.1 78EMBU 8. 1.9 47KITUI 9. 3.7 92MACHAKOS 10. 4.0 100NYERI 11. 2.5 62KIRINYAGA 12. 1.9 48MURANGA 13. 3.4 85TURKANA 14. 3.1 78TRANS-NZOIA 15. 3.0 75

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UASIN GISHU 16. 3.2 80ELGEYO 17. MARAKWET 1.3 33BARINGO 18. 2.0 50NAKURU 19. 5.8 145NAROK 20. 3.1 77KAJIADO 21. 2.5 63KERICHO 22. 2.1 52BOMET 23. 3.2 80KAKAMEGA 24. 6.0 150BUNGOMA 25. 5.0 125KISUMU 26. 3.6 90HOMABAY 27. 3.4 85MIGORI 28. 3.3 83KISII 29. 4.2 105NAIROBI 30. 11.3 282

TOTAL 100 2500

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MAIN RESEARCH FINDINGSMajority of respondents (75.08%) are optimistic their lives will improve because 1. they believe devolution will lead to equitable distribution of national revenue, and local resources will be utilized. But for this to happen, County residents must elect quality, visionary and committed leaders. This is seen as the single most critical contributing factor to the success of the County as a unit of national development. County government as a solution to addressing the challenge of national resource distribution:

Those who think counties will enhance national cohesion and integration:

Views on the effect of the county governments:

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Optimism of Kenyans on the economic growth at the national and county levels after the coming general elections:

Most professionals are concerned about the likelihood that, if unchecked, Counties will become 2. incubators of tribalism and sectarianism. This will undermine the foundations on which the County system is rationalized in the Constitution. Furthermore, there is fear that minorities in specific Counties will be dominated by larger tribes.

Diagram showing statements respondents agree with in percentages:

Bar graph showing respondents’ views as to whether the county system will enhance national cohesion and integration:

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Views as to why county system will not enhance national cohesion and integration:

Views as to why respondents don’t feel they belong where they currently live:

There is no evidence to show that Kenyans understand mechanisms in the new Constitution 3. (such as public participation) aimed at minimising corruption at the County level. Besides, most professionals are concerned that the same leaders who are perceived to have been corrupt are the ones seeking County positions and hence may continue the same culture.

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County government is a solution to address the national resource distribution

Rate your understanding of functions of county in our national governance structure:

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Knowledge of the role of an MP and a Senator in the new Constitution:

Understanding on the number of parliaments that will be there after the next general elections:

A majority of Kenyans want the current campaign process to focus on the economy. Asked on 4. what they consider to be the main agenda for the on-going campaign, most respondents said ethnicity (or tribalism). Asked on what issue they would prefer to be addressed on in the on-going campaigns, the majority said equitable distribution of resources and/or unemployment issues that are primarily linked to improvement of economy. Concerns such as security, peace, social and political stability, improving health and education are hardly listed.

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Main issues perceived to be driving the on-going political campaign:

What people think should be the main issue to drive the political campaigns:

Notably, in spite of the events of 2007/08 in which people lost lives and 1. property, most Kenyans are looking forward to voting in the general elections, and an improved economy. This means that majority of Kenyans expect the general elections to be peaceful. (Qualitative data)

Most of Kenyans are in favour of nationalized systems of public service. Asked if three 2. quarters of public offices at the County level should be taken up by non-residents, most people approved.

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Views as to whether the government should enact a policy that three quarters of all public jobs within a county should be taken up by non-residents:

Views as to whether elective posts in multi-ethnic counties should be negotiated:

While the County governance is highly appreciated, most professionals, unlike the 3. general public, believe it may actually lead to increased taxes. This may in turn shutter the highly optimistic expectations that lives are likely to improve after the general elections.

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Projection of how economic situation will be for individual in a year’s time:

Rate your own understanding of the cost implication of county structure on county residents:

Most Kenyans strongly feel that media, especially vernacular radio, must be 4. professionalised. Some Kenyans argue that these vernacular FM stations, though useful, can be done away with in order to strengthen national unity.

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Views on approval of news and political debates in vernacular FM stations:

Those who said yes to the use of vernacular radio stations and what ought to be done to maximize their importance:

While the majority of the respondents appreciated the contribution ethnic media have 5. made, a lot of people feel that they are counter-productive when it comes to national cohesion especially given their display during and after the 2007-08 political crisis.

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Respondents’ satisfaction with the way media have so far reported the on-going campaigns:

Views as to whether the media are biased in the way they report candidates seeking elective posts:

A majority of Kenyans (including professionals) believe that Kenya needs reconciliation. 6. However, the manner in which this is to be done is highly contested. This in itself is an indication that the country is yearning for reconciliation but the mistrust Kenyans have of each other runs deep.

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Does Kenya need reconciliation?

Views on who reconciliation initiatives should target:

Views on how reconciliation should be done:

Most Kenyans will prefer to know the truth and seek reconciliation (27.50%).

Most Kenyans would rather pass the blame on tribalism. Asked what will “7. they” consider in voting most respondents said tribalism (negative). Asked what will

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“you” consider most respondents said either candidate appeal or party manifesto.

Views on what Kenyans will consider while voting:

Factors that will determine how the individuals will vote:

There are views that peaceful coexistence and a feeling of belonging can be 8. facilitated by people accepting and being accepted by others. Still, the immigrants respect the culture of the people and able to integrate and respect the leadership of where one move to will act as a foundation for peaceful coexistence.

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What best explains Kenyans understanding of belonging:

OTHER FINDINGS A majority of Kenyans are strongly against same-sex marriages. This is mostly on the 1. basis of their religious beliefs.

Do you support same sex marriage?a.

Reasons why people disapprove same sex marriage:b.

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A number of Kenyans hold the view that Counties will overshadow the sense of 2. nationhood as energies will be inwardly directed. Moreover, most people see the benefits of the County only from an economical perspective (qualitative finding).Religious groups are the most trusted to carry out reconciliation. Second to this are 3. government institutions.

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Lead questions: One goal of the County system is to 1. encourage county locals to generate their own income for their development. In practical terms, what is the implication on the ordinary mwananchi? Besides, the cost of running a County in addition to the national government has been estimated to be in billions. How will this affect tax payers?The county system has been introduced in our 2. (new) Constitution mainly to check against misappropriation of national resources, and ensuring equitable distribution of national revenue. To what extent are you convinced this would significantly meet its objectives?

RESOURCES

Cost of establishing County Structures

Responses from in-depth interviews“The county system is definitely an expensive venture but if you look at the benefits that may accrue as compared to what we have had under a centralized system, you would rather that expense be there. People feel that with the resources they can manage.”“I don’t think it’s too expensive because we already had the devolved structures of the central government, like the district had the education officers, district commissioners and had delegated and de-concentrated levels of decentralization so that in itself takes care of the administrative aspects because those structures have been there.”“Let me say first of all that most of the 47 counties will face what we call capacity challenges. If you

assess for example the existing 67 county councils within the local government structure there are a lot of problems which relate to governance and resource allocations, and they don’t have actual offices from where to work from, they don’t have the physical infrastructure not to mention the matters related to security.”“In terms of resources most of the county governments are going to face a lot of challenges.”“Every good thing comes with a cost and for us to get the good thing and enjoy it we must pay the price and so the county governance is very expensive not only to install but to run.”“There are very few counties that will generate enough revenues to cover the costs because if you are going to have a Governor his deputy county representative and all those and they have to be shielded from corruption by being paid well, so it is not going to be easy. I am hoping there will not be too much ethnicity; if it’s not well managed they will collapse.”“The county structures are not too expensive. No government structure is too expensive for the delivery of services. No government should claim that devolution is expensive when all that we want is the delivery of services.”“There is a lot that we are expecting from our counties, but the costs for running these counties are going to be enormous. We are excited but we do not know what it means to run these counties, there is a lot that we have to know to educate the local people about their role in order to run the counties well.”

PART I

PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS

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“Devolution is very expensive because the structures will require more man power, resources, and many challenges will be involved. If these resources that we are going to use are expensive but we get good results, then let it be.” “The cost of running the county will affect the tax payer and it was wrong to create so many counties.”“Administration is expensive, therefore with the introduction of the counties we need to have more money to run them, so, it is going to affect the mwananchi.” “The county system is going to be expensive but if people are genuine then it is the best instrument in the long term.”“The amount of money that comes from the central bank will not be enough to sustain the counties; the counties will have to come with a way of collecting taxes and get their own funding. So the tax burden will be increased in the beginning but as time goes by the taxes will reduce as they develop.”“It is going to be quite a challenge because we have talked about 47 counties and each county will be allocated some budget by the national government. I don’t know if our system has enough resources to run the counties. But according to the finance ministry and the economists of this country they believe that the counties have enough resources to manage.”“I think that the concept and the cost of running the county is important, but it is economically very expensive and what I see in this country is that a very important issue like devolution should have been accompanied with professionals so that we would have economists as well as lawyers to assess the economics of it.”“The current system is very

expensive and it will double the payment on the tax payers.”“I believe that the new system is not as expensive as it looks and we tend to forget how much we have lost and we are still losing through corruption, which is common within the government.”“Even the central government will have to look for ways to collect more money.”“We saw a budget of 1.5trillion shillings for the next financial year, which reflects the cost of the new counties. Setting up the counties, the structures and even the salaries is a massive cost to this country. I see Kenyan’s being taxed more, so initially as citizens we are going to suffer the burden of financing the county governments.”“A substantive part will come from the national government, so the tax regime from the central government will stay. Then at the county level the mwananchi will also be taxed. But for the first time it needs to come with initiatives that really utilize the resources.”“It is going to be expensive but we must ensure that culture is brought in schools. We should not concentrate on English and Kiswahili.”

Equality (equitable distribution)“The research I have just done is revealing that close to 56% of the rural people are poor. Could you say that is the success of a central government? Scholars have argued that whichever way you look at it, even with huge corruption, devolved governments work better because somehow that cake is taken to the local and a part of the national budget is already earmarked for them and it is up to them to decide how they want to use it.”“At the end you find that if we don’t have the correct county governance

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we may not achieve the allocation of resources equitably across the counties.”“We seem to think that corruption is done at the national level but it is right from the grassroots, and from there it has been institutionalized.”“I think the economic resources need to be redistributed according to historical transit development. There are counties which are ethno-regional and have already benefited from other government settings perhaps unduly as compared to others and also presently there are some counties which are benefiting some ethnic groups using resources from another ethno-region. So, they should consider the capacity of each ethno-region and give them according to what they are contributing.”“It is good because resources will be devolved and spent at the local level and the local leaders will be accountable to the local people.”“I don’t think the system is going to reduce the misappropriation of the natural resources and I also don’t think it is going to ensure the equitable distribution of resources.”“I think it is going to ensure equal distribution of the national resources. Already we have the controller of budget and the commissioner in-charge of revenue allocation. We have already put in place the structures thanks to the new constitution so the national cake is being now divided in all these counties based on a needs based approach.” “I think the reality is that this is a very costly system that we have adopted but it is better than what we had before because now there will be that equitable distribution of resources.” “I feel that the county system was supposed to bring the national resources down to the grassroots so that the people can manage their

own resources.”“The county system is a good away of distributing resources well, so that people at the grassroots can benefit.” “Some counties like Turkana have no resources and are not developed, so if we leave those remote counties they will lag behind for many years. The central government has to work hard to develop those counties and help them to generate income.” “If resources are not well distributed how will the other counties without resources will survive?” “We are already seeing resources being negatively distributed to exclude the town centres where the majority of the so called outsiders are so that their children are not able to access the best of the facilities.” “The resources are here, but how are they distributed? The quality of leadership that they elect will determine the future of each county. That is when the issue of corruption comes in and if this trend continues it is likely we will be devolving corruption.”“It will check on the misappropriation of the national recourses because the national cake will be distributed among the 47 counties and the amount of money will be audited, although corruption will not be eliminated completely but it will be checked.” “This is very ideal because counties especially in the North Eastern areas, which have been behind will be taken care of, because the distribution of the national resources will be based on the needs and these areas have been treated like marginal areas, therefore they will get a significant share in the national cake.”“Democracy is expensive but we must look at it positively so that the money that is wasted can now come back to the county government and people are going to be prudent about how the resources have been

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used.”“I see that the resources, which are generated at the national level, will go much more on the administrative side than it will on actual development. So I would really vote for a staged devolution where this is done gradually, otherwise it is going to be a huge burden to the taxpayers.”“The county system is a new structure, which will oblige the national system to distribute their resources equitably.”“The problem of misappropriation of resources is rooted in a lack of values and as a result we can’t defend our own nation. These are things that lead us to be very selfish through misappropriation. Just having a county government is not enough to resolve misappropriation of national resources.”“They should now spend money in such a way that the money they have is used more. We must cut our expenditures on luxuries.”“What is important is the distribution of wealth being done equally.” “Yes it will meet its objectives because the resources will be channelled to the people locally. The resources were being distributed from the government, which enhanced corruption and favouritism, but through the counties either anti-government or pro-government will get the resources.”“On the distribution of national revenues, I think it is a good idea because counties will get allocations depending on the needs they have and I think that is a good way of doing it.”

Effect on the Public“Most of the local people in my county are not employed so how are we going to pay the tax?”“The tax payers are going to be affected very highly because the

number of representatives is going to increase, more cars will be needed, salaries and good houses, all of these increases are going to have an implication on the tax payers. Until there is a good awareness among the common mwananchi it is going to bring conflict between them and the governor.”“This may affect the tax payer positively if they are enabled to participate and are made part and parcel of the people generating and running the resources in the county.”“The system is a very costly system and taxes are likely to go up to meet all these requirements and so the ordinary mwananch is the one who is going to bear the brunt.”“The county was formed with a positive effect, for people to be close to resources, and it will make people work hard since there is a certain percentage that is given back depending on what has been produced at the county level.”“The impact will be okay if people are taxed well and the money is used well.”“We need a working nation and jobs for the youth. The CDF funds have made a difference among the youth and the community so that there is something coming from the government to help the people.”“What I know is that Kenyans are going to pay heavy taxes to cater for the activities in the counties.”“If you don’t have you don’t have. Some will be rich and they will go ahead and the poor will remain poor unless the government come in and do something.”“The taxes will go up because now counties will be competing to be the best in terms of service. So there are two ways of doing this, either you raise the taxes to maintain the same quality of service or you reduce the quality of service so as to make some revenue. So, either way it will make life expensive for taxpayers.”

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“In practical terms the implication of the county to the ordinary mwananchi is very positive in terms of economic implications, because if I go to my county and begin a publication the county will have created an economy of its own whereby the business has been created for sustaining the county.”“The people will be economically empowered. The introduction of the county government has already reduced corruption. We have lost a lot of money because of corruption since independence. So if the people are empowered then gradually this will lead to the fulfilment of the vision of 2030.”“In the long run to generate income to run the counties the burden will be taken to tax payers. Even though there will be more employment opportunities at the county level it means these people have to be paid so there will be an increase in expenditure, especially government expenditure, both at the county and national level.” “It will not affect taxpayers much because they have been paying tax and they will always pay. We went into a very expensive venture in Somalia; did we say we don’t have money to go? The money is there and the taxpayers will always pay.” “Many people are subsistence farmers and they grow for their own consumption so it is very difficult for somebody who is growing something for her own consumption to be taxed. Probably you would get a few of the grains they have planted and that is very difficult for the county economy to rely on. Certain counties will be more privileged than others.”“I don’t see it affecting the taxpayers very much because it would be wrong to raise taxes.” “The politicians have devised a new method of getting the little money the common mwananchi has because the main source of revenue

for the government is tax.”“Kenyans should be aware because they were told during the campaign rallies that the new Constitution was going to come with new expenses. For the county to be viable they must have financial viability, without that you cannot even pay your workers and you will keep on getting loans from the central government, which is not the way to go.” “The people should be ready to dig deeper into their pockets to give the government tax revenue.” “It will affect the taxpayers in the way that the county governments are going to grow in number and we will have to pay for them.”“As it is currently, we will pay more taxes and we are going to dig deep into our pockets to be able to afford this.”“When it comes to taxation, it’s not a big issue because you are taxed in relation to your income, so I don’t think it’ll be a big negative. Actually it will be a positive because the more taxes we pay the richer your country becomes and the more able it is to give you services.”

Autonomy“It is important for counties to generate incomes for themselves.”“Counties borrowing money will lead to a big national debt. The benefit could be service delivery if they are improved and this will work well at the national level.”“There is a problem because not all counties are equal, we have counties which are located in places where there are more resources than others and they will have more revenues than other counties. So what needs to be done is to find ways of getting more revenues for such counties; there has to be fair distribution of resources.” “I don’t see how it is going to help the counties to generate their own income as some regions are well off

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and other regions are not well off therefore some regions are going to be more advantaged than others.” “I think there are several counties that will not make it because these counties have fewer resources compared to others, especially in Northern Kenya. They have nothing to share but this system of devolution is established so that there can be sharing, but the counties which have nothing to share will lead to friction between the county governments.” “The Governors of the counties should come up with systems that are acceptable and practical to the mwananchi, and not by unnecessarily coming up with taxes that would make people’s lives uncomfortable in various counties. It is going very challenging in the beginning but as time goes on the system will be fine.”“By devolving the funds to the county level, we are expecting that resources will be reaching all the corners of this country, so that instead of having one finance ministry and one permanent secretary controlling and managing the whole country, we have 47 governors managing the resources. This will bring about proper utilization of the national fund and it will reduce the corruption and wastage that we see happening in the current system.”“Counties are endowed with different resources and that will give them different abilities in the generation of income.”“There are obviously challenges. Certain counties do not have adequate resources and the man-power to utilize them, so we should not restrict the employment of people from other counties.”“There will be allocations from the central government for each county, but the counties are also expected to generate revenue from their own counties to run their affairs.”

PARTICIPATION

Lead questions: Does the county boundary demarcation 3. adopted in the new constitution enable accommodation of ethnic diversity, and if so, does it lead to forging of the desired national unity in Kenya?How will devolution impact on our sense of 4. belonging as Kenyans?Who do you consider being ‘indigenous’ 5. and how long does it take to become so?

Civic obligation (under the new Constitution)

“It will give Kenyans a sense of belonging and participation and involvement.”“My fear is that the citizens are not yet ready for this kind of system. Somebody somewhere should put in place proper civic education so that people understand.”“The greatest opportunity is that more funds will be coming to the people, they will be more involved and participate in the activities in the county and the biggest challenge is ethnicity that is what we must sort out.”“The implication is that the ordinary mwananchi will be empowered and will have no time to relax. He has to work for himself and generate his own income and therefore know how to spend this income. This will depend on the incentives that they will give to each county. If a county management is going to do it right, then we are going to see a lot being generated because they are being empowered. The people will be forced to be tactical and generate because the income must come.”“Mwananchi in that particular county will have to work harder. The development and the survival of each county will depend on the mwananchi. It is not going to be easy for them, they are going to work hard, and they must do business and agriculture production

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so that they can be able to sustain the development in the county.”“The implication is that the people of the county will be challenged. They will have to develop a way to generate income in their own areas, they will now as much depend on the central government income and they will have to work hard to develop their own areas.”“In the current constitution we have no choice but to accommodate and tolerate each other because for example the Constitution is very clear that every Kenyan has a right to own property anywhere in this country, so you cannot say that I can only own land where my community is.”“This system will allow the people at the county level to participate in planning and decision-making on the allocation of resources, which will also contribute to the overall nation building.”“If the people are educated at the county level they will use the money well and they will give the proper accountability. If people are educated they will know their rights and if they are taught they will assist in the development and solve the problems we have in our counties and the country at large. People have to work as a group not as individuals.”“The way the system has been structured, there will be a greater sense of belonging as Kenyans. People will think that they can go to court and be listened to, got to government office and be given the service they required.”

Promotion of what is local“What needs to be done is to start from the bottom rather than from the top. To invest more at the grassroots level to educate people to understand that these are only units of governance, these are units for the allocation of resources they are

not created for the ethnic groups.”“People at the local level are always saying they have not sent us anything, now it is time for the people at the grassroots to say what we can generate from this place and run our own affairs.”“If it can be done, I feel it will help an ordinary Kenyan because at least they will be involved and they will give their views and they will benefit.” “I am actually very convinced that the county system would help to meet the objectives because it is designed to enable local people to make decisions. This would ensure that the parts of Kenya that have been marginalized get an opportunity to determine their own priorities and plan their resources accordingly.”“I think all said and done the ordinary people are just interested in day-to-day survival. They sometimes don’t remember that their neighbour is from another county. They trade together and some communities I know go across boundaries and hire land just simply to pursue their day-to-day activities. They are not conscious of their ethnic origins.”“I think the demarcation was supposed to have been done after proper education but you see they went ahead with the demarcation without involving the citizens.” “People in the county imagine that devolution means you are given a chance to run your own affairs as a tribe in that region and they are to take their people first and employ them, they always say take our people first. This may lead to disintegration because if a county is led by one tribe how about the rest of the tribes who are living or come to do business in the county?”“Care for others must be put into consideration and we should make people be aware that a county has to depend on each other; there must be correlation, share recourses and

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ideas in order to develop.” “To some extent it has created confusion to the urbanized Kenyans who do not see how to relate themselves as in counties when they actually have been beginning to think of themselves as Kenyans.” “Devolution in spite of all the negative things we have said about it will help us to integrate. If someone from Bungoma has business in Siaya County and a family there and his large family is in another county this person is believed to be a resident in the place where he has business.”“Devolution will not really affect the sense of patriotism because most people will identify with their counties and Kenya because these counties collectively make the country and there will still be a big role for the country in many aspects of their lives.”“When we are at the national level we are still divided and so the county government will perpetuate segregation and this will cause people to look at things along tribal lines and so it will divide us more.”“We have leaders and these leaders have people who should come down to the people. They should talk and get people’s views because there are many things which are hidden that are not out to be seen on the ground.”

Identity“Indigenous means the ancestry where your people came from, the reserve and nowhere else, because here in Nairobi I am just a migrant, I am just looking for a job but my place is the village. My children do not fit in the village but here in town they are migrants and when I am gone they are internationals. We have not reached the stage of letting go of our ancestral lands, but it will come.”“We still value ourselves as Kenyans

and human beings and whether there is a county boundary or what I don’t think it is going to bring a big impact on our lives.”“Indigenous means a person who is born in a particular place in our country. It means that each one of us was born in a particular area but now we should embrace the new constitution whether you were born in western or central and you were unable to live well where you were born then we should get to move and live anywhere.”“I think we have an opportunity to think as Kenyans because what brings us together in all these 47 counties is the fact that we are all Kenyans.”“I will give a good example of the Maasai and other tribes. They have jealously guarded their culture and values to a level where despite industrialization and despite all these changes they have managed to remain faithful to their culture and so globally they are known as one indigenous community and they are Kenyans.”“Being indigenous is a lifestyle and being proud of whom you are and respecting who you are and sustaining those positive cultural attributes that you have.”“It will be very important for people to look at themselves and to treat everyone as the populace of the county and not the tribes of the counties.”“People who own property and who have stayed for over thirty years and the one who owns land and stay there and it was legally acquired and not grabbed then for me they deserve to belong to that county.”“Being a native means that your parents were here and your grandparents were here.” “I feel it is possible to accommodate others but we have natural hindrances here in dealing with that. The people have to know and have to be ready to go an extra

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mile to see that the rights of every individual are taken care of.”“If a person is born in a certain culture of the community, you can work somewhere else but where you are born matters. Tribalism is not new here in Kenya, it is a serious factor.”“Kenya has to become like France because France is the country with single identity, or it has to be like the United States where each region has very distinct identity and states jealously guard their rights. They will not have their identity without unity and it will take longer for them to attain it. I think Kenya being tribal is an obstacle to the future.”“What I have heard from Kenyan friends of my age group and those I have interacted with whether old or young, they perceive themselves in terms of tribes. They think of themselves as Kikuyus or Luos who come from a specific place.”“People belong to where they have been born or in the communities and cultures where they have been born.” “People can also belong to where they have been living for so long, we need to accommodate what it means to belong. We need to change the concept of belonging and expound our narrow understanding of the word native and come to the universal meaning of the word belonging.” “In many communities if you are the minority, people will begin to ask where your roots are.” “If someone comes to Kericho County he has to live like the people in that area. This will bring belonging to people and when you like the way the people behave you will feel that you belong to that place.”“I will belong in a place if I have a property in that place and I respect my neighbour.” “Belonging means that if one comes in a county he belongs to

that county fully and is supposed to subscribe to what is happening within that county and be integrated with the people who live with me in that region.” “There are people from different places or different communities and these people are treated like trespassers.”“I don’t think there is something that qualifies anybody to be a native.” “Belonging should be to every Kenyan regardless of tribe and that is when we will solve the problem of tribalism, change and build this country and grow in all dimensions.”“The sense of belonging is between me and my family but it goes beyond that. Belonging is being entitled to have a share in the county resources, own a business wherever I am and that is what we will call development.”“The tribal issue is there and it has been caused by elections or those in politics. We wish to be one in this country Kenya without saying I belong to this tribe or I come from this place. Let us promote the spirit on oneness.”“It is us who violate and misinterpret the meaning of belonging. Everybody should settle where they feel free.”“As long as they have their property in a certain place let them settle there.”“You belong when have been here for so long, your children go to school here, they have finished school here and they have come back here.” “I am so worried, because someone might come at night and attack me or evict me. There is no sense of security because of the impunity we have had. I am not sure whether the title I have for my home is genuine because of the land scandals we have, the sense of belonging is lucky.” “The people who live in this place

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are people from different places and I feel secure and I relate well with all the people who are there.”“An indigenous person is the one who has been in an area for a good time to learn the culture, social, economic and politics of that given area such that he can be said to be speaking for or doing for the region that person can be considered indigenous because he understands well all that is done in that place.”“There are places in this country and people who don’t feel they belong to Kenya because there are no tarmacked roads, no water, there are no schools and other counties have those things. So I think the county governance will help to bridge the gap to bring oneness in the country.” “We are all indigenous; I think being indigenous is a sense of feeling. Our leaders across the country must take this seriously.” “I think every community is indigenous in the places where they are settled. And if you move from one place to another then you are not indigenous.”“We need to appreciate that this country is made up of many tribes. There is no nation called Kenya there is a state called Kenya even the constitution does not talk about a nation called Kenya but a state called Kenya.”“For indigenous, if I am from the west and I am here in Nairobi I will think that I am an indigenous of western Kenya instead of thinking that I am from Nairobi and I have a bit of education and that shows how much I have been exposed. This shows that indigenous means ethnic even at the university when they begin coming together in groups of belonging they begin ethnic and you can see one saying my people meaning either from Kikuyu or Luhya, even from social circles people begin to congregate faster at the ethnic so in my view

indigenous means ethnic.”“One is indigenous in a sense that he is a member of the county by law.”“We are all indigenous in the country but the way people interpret it is that the majority tribe in a county are indigenous to that place.”“An indigenous person is one who belongs to the tribe where he is living.” “You cannot become indigenous by moving to a place. I think those who will consider themselves indigenous are born in a place and grow up with the culture and socialization of that place. It cannot come through naturalization, through someone moving to a place and adopting the culture of that place.”“The sense of belonging will come back to the counties. Mwananchi will feel as part of the county but what I fear is that the national interest will be lost.”“Being indigenous is being a part of that tribe and so mostly the land you own is ancestral and is passed on from generation to generation. If your great-grandfather came from there this is what I would refer to as being indigenous.”“An indigenous person is someone who has been in a place for a long time. The do cultural practices which originate from that place and the actions of the person are identified with that place.”“In my home district there are people from outside who came there and settled and they became part of the community; they intermarried, went into business and speak the local language. They were accepted with time, there is no deadline, but it’s about their interaction with the common people.”“The question of being indigenous or native or a foreigner is a bad thing. In fact, we should do away with those kinds of references.” “In social studies we look at an indigenous person as one who has

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lived there for a long time, but I think indigenous has more to do with culture.”“Kenyans should live together and respect each other, it’s not about indigenous, nativity or whatever, and we should live together and respect one another.”“I would say indigenous is being native to a place. People who are said to be indigenous stay up-country in rural areas.”“Belonging to a place depends on how ready you are to interact with the people you meet there, because some people go to places and still carry on their former locations.”“Devolution will not affect our sense of belonging as Kenyans because you will not stop saying ‘I am a Kenyan’.” “You already belong to a tribe so you are not going to say ‘I am not a Kenyan but a Kikuyu’, it doesn’t affect like this. It is us who will strive to be Kenyans.”

ACCOUNTABILITY

Lead questions: The county system has been introduced 6. in our (new) Constitution mainly to check against misappropriation of national resources, and ensuring equitable distribution of national revenue. To what extent are you convinced this would significantly meet its objectives?

Strengths“We should strengthen county governments by giving the people who will assume leadership training on financial handling.”“One of the ways by which we can deal with corruption is that we can strengthen our governance structures and our judiciary system and I think the most important thing is to educate the citizenry to be aware of their rights.”“I think the rooting out of corruption

should actually start at the national level, preferably now when the county system is not yet in place, so that by the time we are setting up the counties we are putting out particular legislation as to how things should operate and what is expected and what is not expected. This will depend on the people who will actually be participating, but mainly on the people who will be charged with the responsibilities and the integrity of those implementing the new system.”“This will depend on the people who will be implementing the county system of governance but also on the supervisory role played by the national government. If the people given the responsibility are able to deliver then the system will be fine.”“If we have good leadership and proper mechanisms in place we should be able to get there and to raise revenue.”“On the issue of misappropriation of resources, for a long time the culture of impunity and corruption has been kind of institutionalized but if the spirit of the new constitution with its checks and balances is put in place it will ensure participation by the constituents of these counties so that they are able to make their leaders accountable for the very resources, which are supposed to serve them.”“If people with the right values are inside and they are the ones in leadership, the people they appoint should have the same values.”“It is also a way of teaching people how to monitor the resources they have generated and they will be able to see how effective they have used the resources they have generated. This will bring about proper accountability.”“We need to get the right leaders from the top to the bottom in order to get it right. There are many people who are concerned about

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how resources are distributed at the county level and there are always people at the top who speak on behalf of the community.”“We need to do a lot of civic education so that people will be able to take action in the court of appeal. If the Governor mismanages the funds he can be taken to courts of law and if the county assembly member misbehaves the Governor can remove him.”“In the new system it will be much easier to see if this is the road that was supposed to be built and the people are there to see whether it has been built and they can challenge someone to really build that road.”“The county system will help because money given to each county will be accounted at the county level unlike the previous system where everything was coming from Nairobi.”“When resources are misappropriated at a national level the funding is being controlled by few people and misappropriation is possible. That is why a lot has been lost in the central government. But when it goes to the county there are so many committees taking care of the finances and the misappropriation will be reduced.”“I am convinced that it will be a good system but it is also up to the Kenyans to elect leaders in the coming general elections who are ready to implement the new constitution so that we can realize the gains that it provides. They must be leaders who believe in reforms, distribution of resources and people who are accountable and that can use those resources in a prudent manner.” “It is no longer business as usual, Kenyans will not allow it, but the reason why people have been talking about how expensive it can be is because they have looked at it and not considered what is wasted because much of it goes to waste

and the accountability system is in the central government.”“One of the good things about the new system is that it puts back responsibility at the county level and the local communities and I think part of Africa’s problem has been at the local level. People at the local level should not wait for what is coming from Nairobi.” “The counties need to elect responsible leaders who will be accountable and will manage the resources to the benefit of the locals.”“The Kenyan context is a very complex one and I think in the long term it is able to do that but the process that leads to the institution, that is governance itself, is what is ripe with the sectional complexity and so if we can bypass this process then it would definitely in the long run add value and bring people together.”“If we agree and put in proper mechanisms then in the long run it will forge national unity. We need to encourage such mechanisms as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to help people to sit down and agree on such issues and not to fight.”“Life will go on and it is a good system and unless the politicians take it in a very different direction I don’t think it is going to have a very big impact on our way of living.”

Fears “The county can only be useful to the extent that it can protect land from now onwards but again don’t forget that even at the county level the same corrupt people who have been acquiring land at the national level can easily do the same.”“Corruption is one of the fastest growing industries in this country.” “This is a new system that is being introduced and people are not even aware of it. Even if you asked people ‘are you aware of the county

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system’ people will think it is just the council that has been named in a different way. The people who are going to be elected are going to use the ignorance of the mwananchi to misuse the resources that will be allocated.”“I think generally for me my worry is in terms of leadership because a county can generate few or more resources depending on the leadership.”“In this country thieves are being glorified because they are the ones who are elected as members of parliament. Here, leadership is bought and the government is made of gang members. The government is not serious in fighting corruption with the current constitution that we have.”“The system is going to be good but if county communities make a blunder of electing a Governor and his deputy who are not active and have tribal influences then we will not achieve our goal and the objectives.”“The structures for accountability are still weak. The devolution might not quite address misappropriation of national resources.”“If we go to the issue of misappropriation of resources it is very difficult because the same people who are holding positions of power are the ones standing for the new positions. Unless something happens in which the resources and funds are run in a different way, there will not be much difference.”“I am not sure it will be effective because Kenya is known to be a corrupt country and many leaders are untrustworthy because they are corrupt.”“Some counties are small, so the question would be if the county leaders have excess is corruption going to increase?”“I am a bit sceptical about the county governance. The national government had a few people

enjoying the national cake and so the creation of counties has just expanded the people who will be involved.”“The challenge here is for the national political leadership because they are the main determinants of the allocation that is going to the counties. This is where I see there is the greatest challenge, for the leadership to provide what it takes in order to ensure that the counties have the necessary allocations.”“The new system will not reduce corruption because the same Kenyans who have been running the national government who will be running the counties. But, I do suspect there will be more accountability at the county level.” “I think we have failed to the extent that our leadership does not appreciate ethnic diversity. That is why you find that tribalism thrives on ethnic division. Despite this being in the constitution, our leaders still manage to appoint people predominantly from one ethnic community and these are the issues that have divided the people.”“At the national level political parties are building and you can see the pacts forming along the tribal lines. Tribalism is created by the elites. It is the elites who are trying to use the ethnic groups to galvanize the ethnic support in order to have the bigger stakes at the national level. The ordinary mwananchi are very okay. They mingle at the market place at the grassroots level but it is the elites who use them to foster their own agenda.”“Our politicians at the national level are fighting yet at the grassroots level we are living as brothers and sisters.”“We need to stop the tension between the different tribes by trying to balance the way we nominate our leaders and try to avoid conflict and ethnicity. Tribalism has been triggered mostly in cosmopolitan

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towns because there are many different tribes.” “The political elite are looking for votes from their tribes. Now to look for the votes and to let the votes determine the area administration it’s not a good thing and does not promote national cohesion so for me I find fault in the boundary formation.”

DEVOLUTION AS A SOLUTION TO NATIONAL CHALLENGES?

Lead questions: Does the county boundary demarcation 7. adopted in the new constitution enable accommodation of ethnic diversity, and if so, does it lead to forging of the desired national unity in Kenya?

Strengths“As a country we were aware and supported it and here we are now but as we have said it is going to bring the services closer to the people, it is going to enhance participatory development and it is going to bring even more ownership of the process so that there will be a higher degree of inclusion.”“What we have done is we have actually created counties accommodating all the ethnic groups in the country.”“I think the consideration behind the creation of the counties is not ethnic. It is strictly a way of enhancing efficiency and of enhancing participation of the people in national development and I think arriving at 47 was a manageable convenience.”“The county governance is good because power will be taken out of Nairobi.”“I believe that the fact that the new constitution has given provision for the county system is in itself a mileage for us as Kenyans. Now what remains is how we are

going to ensure that what this new constitution has intended is fulfilled to the letter.”“I think it is one of the good things that we have in terms of reforms for this country and basically in terms of the new system and people participating in the decision making in terms of resource distribution, resource management and especially in the lives of the people in the counties.”“It is a good idea to have vertical sharing between the levels of government and horizontal sharing between different counties.” “To me the county system is a good thing that has been introduced in Kenya. However, in terms of checking the misappropriation of national resources I would think that unless we fight corruption, which is entrenched in our society, it might not achieve that issue because the government is just devolving the corruption.”“The new constitution has done a good job for the country and devolution is one of the important factors, which have been brought in and we believe the distribution of funds to the counties will be very practical.”“I believe this system is the best system for this country especially because we have the perception of tribalism in the running of the various ministries in this country. So by devolving the funds to the various counties we will avoid the situation where we have development taking place in friendly regions.”“Most of the countries which are developed have a devolved system of government where the ordinary person has got a say. But the background depends on the policies that are set by the government and also the civic education. The policies should be that if I come from this county I must be enrolled in this county and not in any other county. But this will promote

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tribalism so we shall have many issues like social interaction and yet what we need to promote is social interaction and integration.”“The devolved system of governance was introduced mainly to decentralize governance and to get governance to the lowest level of society so that they can do their things in the way they know best. It’s not simply about how resources can be shared but how resources can be used effectively at the county level.”“I think the spirit of the new constitution is good as it is meant to take care of the public resources.”“There has been a real effort towards making sure that it works and I am also glad that there has been the recognition that more needs to be done.”“We know that devolution and decentralization of power and government process has been tried in other parts of the world and they have been successful so I believe that if the people continue to be aware of what is in the constitution, of their power as citizens and of the ability to hold government accountable, this system is good and it will meet its objectives.”“The county system was introduced so that we can develop each part of Kenya, as opposed to the earlier system where everyone was paying tax then the tax was collected to the national or central government so that they could decide. So this system should work and be equitable unless it is abused.”“It is going to be effective because we are reducing the power of the central government and bringing it closer to the people. It is a very crucial piece of the constitution. People felt that the old Presidency was too strong, now we are weakening it and making the regions stronger.”“I think that the setting up of the county governments is a good

step for this country. It challenges everyone to try as much as possible and to maximize their resources, so this will provide good competition.”“You know over 70% voted for the constitution, which was a clear indicator of us being tired of tribalism. It was one of the ways the communities were saying finally we might have a chance to share in the national cake.”“My take on the issue is that the county divisions managed to take care of a large number of people but they could not take care of everyone.”“When the electoral commission boundaries were doing the demarcations there was one aspect that was considered and that was population, which was good because when you are talking of population you are talking of inhabitancy and not of ethnicity.”“The county can make it easier as long as the new constitution is taken to the grassroots. Civic education has not reached the grassroots. The civic education and the new constitution have not been understood; it needs to trickle down so that people can understand that we have a new system of governance.”“Devolution will bring resources and development closer to the people. To me it will improve our sense of ownership because we will feel we own Kenya.”“Despite having county boundary demarcations, the same constitution has values like peaceful co-existence of all Kenyans and the right to live and find land in any place of his or her choice.”“The county boundary demarcations are not founded on tribal ethnic lines; rather they are based on the number of people so the counties are not defined by tribes because you can find several different tribes living in the same county.”

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“In some areas there was no ethnic question in some areas it goes in a bit into clans we must stop tribalism and we must start thinking as Kenyans. So if you are affected by boundary issue we should see ourselves as Kenyans and look at the issue of boundary as an issue that give you easier access to allocation and service delivery that is the way we want it to done.”“I hope it will contribute positively and will lead to national cohesion because for the last 40 years we have put a carpet at ethnicity and assumed that it does not exist at the county level.”“It is not going to impact on us and people are interpreting it differently. They are taking the counties to be more important than the country as a whole and the majority in the county will win and that means that we will belong to the counties first and then the country.” “The IEBC have done their work and so we as Kenyans should allow this because they were given a mandate and they did it as per the criteria. The people on the ground have got angry because of tribalism, which is not good for the nation.”“It will impact on us since we will all be able to experience the fruits of the nation. The fruits that were being enjoyed by the central government will now be devolved so that we can all taste.”What we are going to is what it was like before, which is important because it might sort out some of the incidents of ethnic aggression.”

Fears “I think the problem is that the counties are formulated on the districts of 1992. The districts as we know were largely created within the ethnic enclaves. That means counties will still have specific ethnic communities, so I don’t think they can bring the country together.”

“For me I think this was a wrong dispensation and this was a wrong governance system and if you ask for my opinion I would say that Kenya was only ready for seven or eight county governments. This number would be manageable and would easily deal with issues of ethnicity.” “You find that as citizens we are not convinced about what is going to happen, what the government is going to do and even our leaders say they don’t know what the constitution requires of them. We all need the time to realize actually what the constitution requires of us.”“I think there should have been some form of transition from the old system to the county system so that civic education to the public in terms of county matters is done well, because the basic issue here is different people interpret matters differently.”“I think this is another source of political power and this will lead to resource based conflict and yet there are already other conflicts like in Isiolo, Turkan, Pokot and I don’t think this kind of county system will work in such places.”“Things like education, health and culture will be affected because they are going to have counties responsible for them. Decision-making will not be possible and they are largely going to be counted from the top-up.” “We need to introduce our county government in the nomination according to # 4 section 278 of the constitution, which talks of equality and equity regardless of the gender to make sure that the marginalized communities are nominated so that their interest can be catered for and try to curb tribalism.”“People who are the minority in any given county are in fear, they are not represented and they are not considered. Those who are in

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power and are the majority will continue to dominate and to rule. That will make many Kenyans not to feel comfortable, not to enjoy the fruits of devolution and not to enjoy being a Kenyan.”“It is a good constitution but there are issues that are going to affect the implementation of this constitution particularly the devolved government in the sense that each county is not populated by one single community or tribe.”“There are certain communities in these counties that at the end of the day after the devolved government are going to look like they are minorities and even though the constitution says it should be inclusive these minorities are going to be neglected.” “So when we are talking about employment, who will get preference? It is the indigenous community of that county. These others in Kenya they are called outsiders they don’t count.”“It can lead to tribalism because people would like to retain what they have. The cosmopolitan counties like Nairobi will be full of friction because if you see the tested devolution with the city council they are always at war. So there will be wars and fighting because of the resources.”“The problem is that even though the constitution is talking of devolution there is a lot of difficulties with our leaders.”“My own take on it is that the demarcations are based on the tribal orientation in the country and therefore for that reason, apart from a few counties like Migori, which have a mixture, they will be tribal.”“It is like we have transplanted ethnicity from the national level to the county governance.”“I don’t think that the county boundary demarcation as adopted in the counties was made to

promote ethnic cohesion because first of all they cut the country into manageable units to improve access of resources at that level particularly for the citizens. Therefore looking at the issues of equality and equity in terms of access it really helps and for me that is the aim of the entire county structure.”“They will not forge the national unity that is required. The boundaries have followed the lines of ethnicity and in some counties it is clannism.”“It is promoting ethnicity and not the desired national unity.” “I want to say that the boundary demarcations that were initially done were based on tribal demarcations. There would be one or two that might be sharing the county but most of them are based on the tribes.” “First of all you know the county boundaries are just a revival of the former districts, the original 42 districts, which were ethno-districts where you have particular ethnic groups or particular ethnic clans forming a county or even a division and that means that it is not forging ethnic diversity.” “The colonial boundaries are still in place for most of them and I will say for certain that counties are very barren in terms of diversity because they have been curved out of basically ethnic considerations.”“It has not forged the national unity fully and at the same time I think that the county boundaries should have been curved out in a manner that speaks to development rather than out of ethnic considerations.”“We have seen in some of those counties we have some ethnic groups still dominating, ethnicity will still be there but I think we should devise a mechanism of trying to minimize its effects.”“Unfortunately I will say no because these county demarcations are the old colonial boundaries

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that were made before we got our independence.” “I think the current demarcation is really going to perpetuate tribalism.”“I don’t think that this will necessarily lead to national unity because there is a lot of tribalism.”“I think the counties will not bring in ethnic diversity.”“When you look at the counties they are tribal, it is encouraging ethnicity. They are encouraging us to act according to our cultures and they will be benefiting from their own resources and the income that will be generated will be for that particular county. The county does not increase national unity but brings a lot of division, tribalism and discrimination.”“Looking at the map of the counties I find that there are two criterias that informed the demarcations of the region. One is tribe or ethnic group and two is the political experience.”“I think we are all aware that there was a political dimension of creating so many districts.”“I think in the future there is a big chance that if Kenyans wanted to they could sit down and restructure the county boundaries, but because of the political volatility of that particular issue and because people are hijacking it for the wrong reasons the committee have to stick to the colonial structure that have been here before.”“I don’t think it will work because Kenyans have a negative attitude towards any suggestion brought forward. And because of that vague perception therefore they are not ready to say yes to it and even to all of as it’s something we are not sure of.”“According to my understanding even this could divide Kenyans; it will bring a lot of division. Because it is not something we are used to and some people will act upon it

differently and according to my understanding, it is most likely to tear even Kenya apart.” “I think the new county system does not really change anything when it comes to ethnic diversity because that does not look like it was one of the considerations. It will retain what has always been there because most counties belong to the same ethnic groups except the urban ones.”“The previous boundaries were mostly based on tribe, for instance the Kisii region, Nyanza region, and the boundaries were given names according to the ethnic group that occupied those regions.”“Are we moving toward national unity? Well, politics is increasingly polarized, and is along tribal lines.”

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PEACE BUILDING

Lead questions: Several efforts have been made towards 8. building peace especially at the grassroots. However, at the national level, there seems to be very little effort towards this goal. Do you think there is need for national reconciliation? If yes, what sort of reconciliation and who should be the main target?

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

Need for reconciliation?“I think we are not reconciled enough because I don’t think we have dealt squarely with the issues that led to the post-election violence.”“It would be good if we look at grassroots reconciliation. We go to the people and use traditional structures of reconciling people.”“Once we reconcile at the grassroots level I think that is the basis of building good relationships and building peace. It gives us the opportunity to start realizing ourselves and what are the hindrances.” “If reconciliation is already being done at the grassroots I don’t think we really need it at the national level because the people we are targeting are the ones at the grassroots and if they have been educated about the need for peace then we do not need it at the national level.”“Yes, peace building and reconciliation are needed especially at the grassroots because they are people who usually fight after being incited by the politicians. So if we have reconciliation at the grassroots level it more effective in bringing peace and building coexistence among citizens.”“I believe there has been reconciliation at the grassroots for a while. During the post-election violence I was involved in

humanitarian efforts and there was an effort to try to talk to the people to bridge the gap and much of that work was done by the church.”“Yes, since the post-election violence there have been many initiatives at the grassroots to encourage people to appreciate each other’s cultures and openly discuss the negative effects of ethnic isolation. People have become more conscious of the consequence of ethnic isolation.”“We have not reconciled as a country. What we have attempted to do is to use the legal process to bring reconciliation through, which has not involved the people concerned.”“It will be needed for the families of the people who were killed. Equal distribution of resources should not only be put on papers but put into practice. I think this has to come from the national level.”“We need reconciliation because there is this talk at the national level that is extremely negative.”“Yes the country needs national reconciliation for proper healing. We have seen people preaching peace at the grassroots level but there has not been national reconciliation. Instead they have kept on inciting and dividing Kenyans.”“I would say we have not fought enough for reconciliation but we have tried because looking three years back you can see that there is a difference. Kenyans are empowered enough to come out in the open and talk about issues that were not being talked about three years ago. And so in terms of the steps towards fighting tribalism we have started the journey but there is a long way to go.”“I don’t think we need national reconciliation because when you are talking about national reconciliation we are talking about the two politicians that we have put up there.”“As a nation we really need

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reconciliation. There are things that happened and are happening and if we don’t take steps they will happen and they need urgent discussion. Issues such as the political conflicts, for it looks like whenever we go to elections it is like there are only four tribes against one tribe, three tribes against one tribe or two tribes against one tribe just for political interest.”I think yes reconciliation is paramount because you can do all that is required in reform processes but if people are not healing then it may take a long time to see the results of the reform process.”“We very much need reconciliation. What happened in the post-election violence was terrifying.” “We need reconciliation a lot if we want the country to go well together and to progress. If you look at the politics we have today they are tribal and each tribe wants to have a president.” “Of course there is need for national reconciliation because the current situation in Kenya is very worrying and we are heading to another election when we have not cleared the hangover of 2007.”“In order to build a nation we need it because reconciliation has the impression of healing good relations that have been damaged. In my view there have never been good relations, there was deceit at the beginning of the nation at independence lies were told and these lies have been multiplied so what is needed is deliberate efforts to build a nation called Kenya.”“This question of reconciliation and peace building is a double-edged sword. There is no need for national reconciliation if you have a functional national administration, a functional judiciary and a functional police force. Everybody is punished for his actions.” “Reconciliation is needed because we can’t have everything

functional.”“Yes we need reconciliation because Kenya as a nation has been tested in terms of peace.” “We have many tribes so a national reconciliation is very necessary.”“There is a need for national reconciliation and the process is continuous.”

Tolerance“For reconciliation, I think the most important thing is that we all can appreciate that each one of us is important, none is less Kenyan or more Kenyan than the others.”“Yes we need to sit down and say I did this and that. Stop blaming each other and planting it in our children and move forward as a country.” “For there to be an impact it is important that we preach peace right from the ground. We can begin with students so that they can grow knowing that peace is very important in the world.”“There is need for fair play, respect of tradition and culture then we can have our reconciliation.”“We can’t forget what happened in 2007-2008, that is a scar on the history of our nation, a physical scar on our people that cannot be rubbed or wished a way.”

Seek Truth and Justice“First identify the problems, let people heal, let them be talked to, and then work on solutions.” “We need reconciliation of the youth at the national level, politicians, and the policy makers in the government. There has been a lot of nepotism, such as one ministry employing one ethnic group, so those are some of the examples we can look at that we need to address.”“Reconciliation has to begin with people understanding that there is a problem, analysing these problems and the causes.”“People should be given a chance, first to bring out their complaints

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about issues that they deem unfair. Once everybody talks then the issues can be addressed, and that is how you have healing and people can forgive each other. Unless it is addressed you don’t know what solutions to bring.”

Seek dialogue at various levels “Every Kenyan should be brought on board. When it is bottom up it is more sustainable than when it is from top down.”“I think the first people who should be targeted for reconciliation is the whole country, the citizenry, leaders in all capacities – state and non-state actors.”“The entire citizenry should be considered. The youth and women should be targeted because they are the ones who are used by the politicians. The women have compassionate hearts to listen and they internalize first if they get an issue, they get touched.” “The most important process for reconciliation that we need to bring about is between communities especially people in rural areas because these are the people who were affected most by the clashes.”“If we bring together the 42 tribes with their leaders and they sit together and reconcile with each other then go back to their village they can attempt reconciliation, but not through politics.” “To me, reconciliation can come only when those in government or those in any position in society come down and give the citizen the right treatment.” “There is a need for national reconciliation and we already have national bodies like the TJRC who are trying to solve earlier problems and promote integration. So we have the national bodies but it is more important to be done at the grassroots. It should target every Kenyan.”

SYSTEMIC TRANSFORMATION

Lead questions: Several efforts have been made towards 9. building peace especially at the grassroots. However, at the national level, there seems to be very little effort towards this goal. Do you think there is need for national reconciliation? If yes, what sort of reconciliation and who should be the main target?What should be the role of the religious 10. institutions and civil organisations in ensuring peaceful county governance operation?

Who should lead reconciliation?

The Religious“I think religious communities can do a lot. They have a big role to play in the context that they reach to the lowest part of the society. The religious community almost lost face during the 2007-2008 post-election violence. They took a back seat and they were perceived to favour certain tribes against others.”“Religious institutions, the benefit for them in whichever way you look at it, they already integrated the concept of reconciliation. “Well for the religious groups we have not heard much from them but maybe judging from what happened in the last elections they have decided to take a back seat on this issue for now.”“Faith divided us or rather made the ethnic factor manifest because certain denominations were associated with certain ethnic groups. But religion in its reality promotes good networks, relationships, and links so we should see a lot of value in it.”“One thing we have to acknowledge is that religion holds a lot of values that are very close to the hearts of people and so for me that is a huge opportunity for the religious

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organizations and institutions to rally around the theme of national cohesion, county cohesion and regional cohesion.”“There is a true religious piety and also a pseudo kind of religious piety, which is being perpetuated for the interest of a few people. If you look at how many churches we have now they are so many and the people dishing out blessings to politicians, it leaves one confused.”“I think they need to be diversified because according to me the religious organizations in Kenya and other parts of Africa are still manifestations of ethnicity instead of being liberators and people who bring people together sometimes they divide them along ethnic lines. They are just new forms of ethnicity in Kenya. They mirror the ethnic set up in many ways.”“Let the religious and civil organizations participate in this process.”“It is the role of the church to ensure that they treat everybody equally, whether there is a political class in the congregation or not. Not all religions are doing it but the few that are doing that are giving negative publicity to other religious fraternity and it is high time they all worked together to go back to their cause.”“It is a pity that both religious and civil organizations have been drawn into partisan support.”“The church stand higher chances of spearheading reconciliation and fighting negative ethnicity. It should be at the forefront in the process of reconciliation.”“I think Kenya is a religious nation and so it will be a good foundation for spearheading reconciliation but it will not take away the tribal identity.”“The church leaders have to be genuine because they have a voice to talk on behalf of the people and they should work with young people

in order to reach reconciliation.”“The church should be out of politics. They control a large following and people believe in the pastors and priests. I think they should be kept out of politics.” “Religious institutions’ role is to promote the virtue of love because all the virtues are founded on love. They have to encourage people to live together. They need to emphasize the teachings of the bible and the Ten Commandments, especially the commandment of love.”“The religious people have been a source of conflicts. Let them first deal with reconciliation so that they heal themselves by addressing the issues that they have contributed toward the conflicts we have in the country.”“Many religious leaders let us down during the 2007/2008 post-election violence so we need to heal the church first.”“I get disturbed when I hear that the religious organization must lead the way for peace, they don’t have any more right to peace and justice than any ordinary citizen. The search for justice and peace is a duty for every human being.”“Most of the wars and conflicts have been caused by religious organizations so they should step out as far as restoring peace and reconciliation.” “The religious organisations need to be critical to what we see because these institutions would be playing the role of educating the people about the fundamental principles of life.” “Let there be civic education performed by both religious institutions and civil organizations and let the communities be aware of these rules and members of the church and of the society.” “Before the painful experience of 2007/2008 the Catholic Church was being blamed for being silent when

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people were suffering. After that the Catholic Church decided to come in; they were perceived affiliates of certain political groupings. The church should take a neutral stand for all the people not a small group of people. I think the church has got itself involved but in worse ways than before.” “Religious organizations and civil society organizations are very important because they are closest to the people. They are less threatening to the people and people are likely to participate in activities of a religious nature of civic organizing.”“The religious people should speak in one voice; the problem is when they get involved in political affiliations.”“I think for an ordinary person to understand what the county system is, why it was introduced and how it will affect them, there should be education. So I think the religious institutions should be used to give education and show the advantages and disadvantages.” “The religious and civil organizations are trusted and so if they take information to the grassroots they will stop the possibility of anything arising.” “The Church should champion peace throughout. They should not be silent. The church was silent during the PEV, they knew what was coming, but they did not talk.”“Reconciliation is very important because if there is none, Kenya will continue to burn. People will still see each other as enemies and if we want reconciliation we would have used the church as the basis for reconciliation but it has also been politicized.” “The church and civic society organisations should be part of these committees that have been formed to structure the counties. They can hold forums in public places and have more talks on peace.”

Civil Society Organisations“The civil society organizations have tried to be part of the issues going on. They have no big programs though.”“Civil society has played a very big role in our country, a lot of civic education and has an advantage that they can get to the grassroots where issues really are.”“Civil society should not be partisan in national issues or even local issues. If they are non-partisan and stick to the law they are empowered to promote peace”“The world is very interconnected and Kenyan issues are by and large so. We can’t ignore our neighbours, the international community and international bodies like IGAD AU and at the same time the other bodies and NGOs all have a role to play as stakeholders in our local issues in Kenya.”“For civil organizations to ensure that there is peaceful county governance they should not be based on money and identity. They should influence and ensure that we have proper policies for county governance. They should also champion for the rights of the people and representation.” “The civil society has to come in and work hand in hand with the church in order to stop tribal wars.”“The civil society leaders are the ones bringing us problems; they are just using us to make money. The NGOs are not investigated into what they are doing, where do they put the money and the leaders should stop instigating people.”“Civil organizations have a mandate to promote peace by encouraging and advocating peace in diverse counties and by recruiting people and officers in their offices who have knowledge and who are skilled in promoting peace as well.”“The civil organizations have been involved in a lot of sensitization and civic education helping people

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to know their responsibilities, the powers they have and how to interact with their neighbours.” “Religious organizations and civil society organizations together at some point lost a moral ground to offer alternative leadership.” “The civil societies tend not to be trustworthy and they don’t sustain their promises and facts.” “It is through these groups that they can form coalitions to defend certain causes or to question what they feel are irregularities in government. They can also play a role in vetting leaders. Leaders can be vetted and a consensus reached on kind of leadership required.”“The civil organizations should keep up the pace, they should not relent.”“The religious groups and civil society have a role to play, because sometimes when you leave the government alone it may not do enough. That’s why we need civil society in all areas, from agriculture to youth enterprises.”

Government“There is a need for the government to incorporate traditional methods of conflict prevention whereby the people are involved and their issues or concerns are taken into consideration. Involve them in the entire process of conflict resolution and reconciliation.”“The conflict prevention mechanisms in the country are more divisive in my opinion but perhaps we have not done enough as a country to put together an active measure of conflict prevention mechanisms.”“The government should bring in good structures. For example, if the constitution had been implemented according to the spirit and letter then all these things would have been taken care of. There should also be firmness in situation like what is

happening in Mombasa now with Mombasa Republican Council.” “Inherited conflict is the issue of corruption. You look at the issue of land, it started a very long time ago and it is also a source of conflict among us Kenyans.”“If the government can try to provide essential infrastructure in different area like dams in pastoral areas it will help to solve some problems.”“Reconciliation needs to begin from the top and then be cascaded down to the grassroots. As long as at the top people are still talking about ‘our’ communities it is going to affect the grassroots and suddenly with that trend even in the coming election it might explode again into violence.”“I think there is peace building by civil society and even government at the grassroots level, but, at the national level we have seen the focus changed towards succession debates.” “I believe national reconciliation is only possible at the political level.”“Conflicts can be created by unstable and unsustainable practices like corruption, dishonesty, and greed for power.” “The county government is not an isolated entity. There should be coordination and correlation with the national government so that we can maintain and have peace in our country.”“There is a lot that has been done at the national level more than at the grassroots because the people who are trying to make sure that there is cohesion are at the national level. On the ground people are not doing anything.”“The work of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) is very important because it looks at where there are conflicts then they mobilize political and traditional resources to address it; they mobilize national, local

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and grassroots opinion leaders to contribute to ensure that people reconcile, live in harmony and unity and pursue national development goals.”

International Community“The role of the international community and our development partners in the county setting is very big.”“This is our country we should not sit back and rely on the international community to come and solve our issues.” “We know that the international community tend to have exclusive development programmes that advantage some ethnic groups against others. So there should be some kind of equitable distribution of resources in the programmes earmarking development.” “The international organizations have not been incorporated appropriately. They have not been given a proper role in this transition, especially involvement at the grassroots level in peace building.”“The international organizations should provide funds for civic education to stimulate the economy.”

Credible leaders “It’s basically the leaders who influence us to be tribal.”“The leaders of different communities need to talk the truth so we can forgive each other.” “Let us have credible leaders who are able to forge inter-county relationships so that we can have joint projects between the counties. The leaders should come out of their cocoons of perpetuating tribalism and say we are members of one country.”“The members of parliament, the provincial administration, the chiefs, the county leaders and

the church leaders should listen to people’s views and have civic education programmes.”“If Kenyan leaders could be open and tell the people we are sorry that will be enough for the people to heal. We are now going in the next election and we have not achieved anything.”“The leaders we are electing should reconcile first, because they are a very big problem and they are causing many problems for the country. We need policies that will help to implement the peace and reconcile with each other.”“The new Constitution is good but the actors are still thinking in the past. They haven’t bought themselves to the idea that we have a new Constitution.” “The moment actors at the national level say ‘let us forget about tribalism’ it will be reflected at the grassroots, but as long as they say that these are my people and I belong to this party, not much will happen.”“We need to enforce the NCIC Act which requires that not 1/3 of the employee in any national institution should not come from one community. We also need to educate people to understand the access to job opportunities depend on one’s capacity and commitment to the service and not in any protection from an ethnic group.” “The country requires national reconciliation, and we need leaders who have been involved in causing delusions among Kenyans to apologize and honour up to their mistakes so the country can heal. We need the top leaders in the government to be an example to the local communities by reconciling and working together so that the effects can be felt at the grassroots.”“We need reconciliation, especially at the top. We are allowing our leaders to get away with so much

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while they are the ones preaching tribalism.”“We need national reconciliation and the main target should be the President and the Prime Minister. They are the ones to start with and they should lead the process of reconciliation.”“The common mwananchi has no problem; it is the politicians who divide us. The people we should focus on are the politicians because they may speak together in one voice but when they get out there they talk different things.”“We should make a rule where no county Governor comes from his native county, but we get people from different counties to run other counties and especially from a different tribe.”“At the national level it should target the politicians because they represent a region and the people have trust in them.”“There is the problem of leadership. When the colonialist left, the then leaders appropriated themselves large tracts of land, leaving others landless.”

PROCESS OF PEACE BUILDING

Lead questions: In what way are conflicts experienced in 11. Kenya today ‘inherited’?Do we as a nation need reconciliation? If 12. yes, how should this be done?

Inherited Conflicts? “If we address past mistakes there will be reconciliation.”“We have had clashes from 1991 at the clamour for multi-partyism. In 1997 we had the same and then the 2007/08 post-election violence. Properties and lives were lost, but nobody has ever talked to them about healing. We are planting bitterness in the people.”“National reconciliation is very

important and we really feel it should be done, and there have been a lot of historical injustices in the country such as the issue of land at the coast and in the central province.” “Some of us were brought up in local villages where we were told that ‘this tribe’ is an enemy and we grew up knowing that they are enemies and you are not even supposed to marry from there.”“As a country we need peace building, since independence we have not reconciled ourselves for historical injustices ranging from land to the way national resources have been distributed.”“You see the tribal feeling is not something that has started now. It has been there from independence. People felt a certain tribe was more advantaged than the other. So it has been carried on even into our children.”Inherited conflicts were one of the causes of the post-election violence, because some people feel that they have over the years been denied their rights to reach their full potential. So, inherited conflicts exist and if these are not addressed there will always be underlying violence.”“Some clashes are inherited. If we look at the pastoral community where we have cattle rustlers, these are inherited and they would find that their grandfathers would be doing the same.” “The ethnic clashes are inherited and often these problems came from colonial times.” “In the Rift Valley and the Coast, these conflicts were inherited, basically because of the redistribution of land where some people felt disaffected. So there is inheritance there but sometimes politicians exploit these small problems to their own benefit by exaggerating them. That is why you have violence coming in during the elections.”

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“I think that the first Government of Kenyatta started tribalism. It gave resources to mainly people from the Kikuyu community. Secondly, the land on the Coast was decreed by the President so that he could give away. So, yes it’s inherited and one that we’ve had for a long time.” “The biggest problem in this country is the hatred between the Kikuyu and the Luo. They drag the rest of the other tribes into their hatred. So, if we can start with those two communities and they could become friends and reconcile then I think it will be easier for the other communities to follow suit.”“Basically the conflicts in Kenya are traditional and about borders and land. We used to leave that conflict to be between the white man and the African, but now they are caused by ethnicity and tribalism.”

Who is to be targeted for reconciliation?“We have to forget jailing suspected people in the post-election violence, because even if you jail the whole country and you have not healed her from the past, there will still be a problem in the future. Cohesion is not shouting on top of the vehicles or putting on a uniform but coming out and tell the people the truth.”“The reconciliation that we need should be driven like what we had in Rwanda and in Sierra Leone where we see reconciliation coming out and the culprits confessing and those who committed very big crimes being punished.”“It should particularly target those who are not financially well off because of that negative feeling toward the rich.”

What is the preferred method? “It will require re-educating people to remove from their minds that this is not the way things are. This is when civic education will be

required most.” “Certain recommendations on issues to do with land have not been met and nobody is interested in that.” “Having a sustained national conversation on peace building, issue-focused debates among ourselves would really bring about the peace we need.”“Increase the capacity of all the tribes to the level where when there are opportunities not one tribe is favoured.”“Addressing the wrongs that were done to some people, stretching our hands and telling them we hurt you we are sorry.”“Through education with the creation of more national schools, let us integrate children all-over the country.”“We should call forums and tell the people the consequences of destructive conflicts.” “We should use the schools. Peace and reconciliation should be considered as an important subject or topic in schools.”“We need to open a discussion and address the problem of ethnicity and discrimination.” “I think it’s to do with tribal feelings. People need to accept one another and to look at each other as a Kenyan not as a tribe.” “Systematically to discuss the conflicts that exist, the causes of those conflicts and to collectively find solutions to those conflicts. At the national level there is need for a truth and reconciliation process where people must accept injustices that have been done.”“There must be reconciliation committees to establish the causes of the previous conflict, there should be tolerance from the groups that were involved, after that you can foster peace.” “It’s not reconciliation but justice and fairness that are required. For instance on land issues, fairness will

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only be done when we have good land policies that allow everyone to acquire land.” “We need reconciliation and the way it should be done is by involving all stakeholders: the people, the church, county leaders, government leaders and corporations to champion cohesion.”“It should be a combined effort by the churches, the mosques, the civil society, the government and the politicians.” “The best way is to introduce a subject in school on ethnicity so that children from class are taught the positive of the other tribes so that they can get to know that all people although are from different tribe are the same even if they speak different languages.”

MEDIA

CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

Lead questions: Media have been considered essential yet 13. double-edged swords in building peace. In what ways can vernacular stations contribute to national cohesion and integration?How do you view ethnic media in relation 14. to intercommunity integration?

Audience deconstruction “The vernacular radio stations have a very strong influence on the people. Go to the village, your mother or grandmother takes something said in the mother tongue on the radio as the gospel truth. So the vernacular media can actually be used very well as they have a far reaching influence.”“Ethnic media do not confine people

to a specific ethnic thinking. You will see a lot of stories circulating and counter stories too. So, as much as they have the ability to incite, it brings a lot of divergent views.” “Social media can be used for reconstruction and for bringing people together. If you look at Twitter and Facebook, people sometimes have negative perceptions of the social media but it can be a useful network especially if it is used in the correct way.”“The media should talk more of Kenya rather than counties. Even the local vernacular radio stations should talk more of Kenyan issues rather than county issues.”“For me vernacular radio stations are very good for fostering unity and diversity in Kenya and they should not be used deliberately in terms of propagating negative political messages.”“The vernacular stations should invite the people from other tribes to their stations.” “They will just remain ethnic unless and until they start inviting people of different ethnic groups to come and talk in their stations to share different views they can’t promote national cohesion and integration.”“We will start having conflicts because you will start hearing now these people through their vernacular stations are talking about governance in the counties. So for me I don’t think they are going to promote inter-community relationships.”“Sometimes the vernacular stations do not think of national interests.”“If you want to promote intercommunity harmony and cohesion use a language that everyone can understand.” “The convergent point for me is to have a media in the county that is accessible to everybody and that everyone understands, then you take care of the bias.”“Yes, if we are reading national

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news in vernacular in a county with five or more different tribes and only one is reading in their vernacular the other tribes will feel marginalized, disrespected and discriminated against and will want to resort to conflict.”“I feel it is very positive to the community, because we have education. When we talk about English as a language being used for whatever education, and when you talk about vernacular being used to educate the people, most of the people cannot relate to English because some are illiterate and semi illiterate.”“Sometime back we had the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and the people from all over the country had to listen to it. It inculcated in the people a sense of nationhood, but after allowing the other TV and radio stations to promote tribalism many problem have come up.” “We have to use one language, either English or Kiswahili, in order to instill our nationhood in the people and promote the spirit of oneness.”“It is good to have the news in local languages for the local people to understand in case something important needs to be communicated.”“When we speak in languages that others do not understand others switch off. We should have an official language that all people can understand.” “The media are the right tools for reconciliation; it gives us a lot of information.”“Media have been invaded by the political class. The politicians are competing on the media and the vernacular radio stations are full of political debates which are tribal.” “The media can build a nation or they can destroy it. Looking at the national media I sometimes ask myself why they pay so much attention to the ‘Ocampo Four’ at the

expense of the people who suffered in the post violence election.” “Some of the media personnel are influenced by people who have money and are in power to write what they want and in that way the media can be destructive. But if the media pays more attention to what unites us then we can build the nation.”“The FM radio stations and the papers have taken over and they are owned by the individuals who have political interests. But if the national media would be encouraged or funded to spread as strongly as the private media have done then it could build the nation.”“We need one language in order to become one nation. Language is very important and the coming of these private media means they are encouraging tribalism in the communities. There is nothing that we can do about where we were born and where we grew up but this should not be promoted at the expense of the national language, Kiswahili.” “Vernacular stations are very important in our country because they have been used to promote and maintain our cultures. If they concentrate on positive things they can help to foster national reconciliation. But if they are to promote division like in the 2007 post-election violence, they can be an instrument against building the nation.”“As much as we would like to develop the various tribal languages and cultures in our counties, we would want to speak one language of being Kenyan, doing things for Kenya and improving Kenya as a country. As much as these languages are our birth rights and they are the only way we can identify our tribes, they should not become the reason for our separation and the reasons for us to cause disputes.”

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“These stations are vital because they are talking to a particular segment of society. Their mission is to make profit but they educate and inform the masses.” “These stations, if used for the right purposes, could contribute to national cohesion.” “We should have vernacular stations because why would you kill your own culture in favour of someone else’s? Language is a part of our culture. We need these languages because they are a part of our culture, but we do need to practice much sobriety in the way we use our vernacular languages.”“Language plays a very key role in society. It’s part of our culture and we can’t run away from it. Whether it is in Kiswahili, English or vernacular, if it is positive for society then it is beautiful.”“Vernacular stations are able to reach the locals, so the presenters should be encouraged to champion peace, cohesion and togetherness.”“They can help by exchanging programmers to other communities to broadcast. This will bring people together for the purpose of sharing and this can help achieve cohesion.”

MEDIA PROFESSIONALISM

Lead questions: S15. hould we do away with news in vernacular in order to promote peace?

Ownership“We must acknowledge that the people in the media are doing business and they are not necessarily for the good of the people.” “If the vernacular stations have diversity in management and ensure that not a single community has more than 1/3 of the total management or ownership, the balance can be there and they can use the language

that people understand well, and encourage them to be peaceful.”“If there is variety in terms of the people who are working in these media houses the national debates will be more of quality and representative of tribes in Kenya.”“Vernacular media have been abused for the most parts and they have been totally a political tool of the parties that the owners or the announcers are affiliated to, so I think that this local media should be critically examined. Before they are licensed they should have to be objective and they should have to follow the rules that will promote cohesion and integration.”“Some vernacular stations are owned by individuals, who have certain political interests, so they will try to influence the listeners to side with their own ideas.”“If the media stations are owned and managed by one ethnic community it will affect peace and reconciliation and they might intend to encourage dangerous tribalism.”

Checks on content presentation “Unfortunately, the media has not done so well because it thrives on sensation, excitement and things that sell and not necessarily things that want to bring the community together.”“If the vernacular stations broadcast things like culture and educate young people then we will be making headway.”“The problem is that the media presenters need to be well educated to give the right information to the people.” “It is just a question of regulation. Let the stations be regulated by the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK).”“If vernacular radio stations are not controlled they are going to do harm to this country.”“They don’t have any value unless

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there is translation and they express the same ideas for other people to understand.”“If the media presenters cannot follow their ethics well we are going to have many problems and if the leadership is poor, they cannot control or stop what happens at the stations people we are not going to solve any problem.”“Whether it is local, vernacular or national, they should stick to balanced reporting. It does not matter whether the issues are local or national so long as they are professional and avoid inciting people and issues that can divide Kenyans.” “There should be a policy to regulate their content and if need be presenters and owners of these radio stations should be taken to seminars to be educated on the importance of using those platforms for national interest and things that will lead to national reconciliation.”“We need communication but what is being communicated has to be checked. There must be respect for ethics and the code of conduct.” “The media are not social welfare organizations, they are profit-seeking institution and the agenda is to maximize their balance sheet and this is what they will pursue. On the other hand the media seem to be perpetuating tribalism because they are not employing trained professional journalists.”“There is more separation than ever before because the media tend to use a common prejudice, which sustains differences. The diversity in employment in the media houses can also be a factor so that people can trust all that comes out of it.”“Freedom of expression means that individual media outlets are given freedom to comment on public affairs without fear or favour, but it also means the plurality of media. To have true freedom of the press, you need to have many media

outlets because there you will create plurality in the marketplace of ideas.”“The ethnic media have no role in intercommunity integration.” “When it comes to politics they have the interest of whoever pays them.” “They should not be banned. They should be regulated and held to account.” “They should be checked by the central government to ensure they do not engage in tribal animosity.” “We do not need to do away with vernacular stations, but we need to check and balance and institute laws against tribalism. The government needs to take measures to ensure that there is peace.”

ETHNIC MEDIA

Justification for Existence:

As a tool of Positive Intervention“They are very useful, because you reach the people and you talk to them in a language they understand best and they could help in civic education.”“The media have a big role generally in promoting peaceful co-existence in the country because they are the only point of contact between what happens, especially between the government and the public.”“Sensationalism is what they ride on and make money out of, but it is good also to have civic education and for the consumer to be responsible about what they consume.”“We should not do away with the vernacular radio stations in order to promote peace because there are certain expressions that will touch hearts when said in vernacular.”“If they are well handled, ethnic media can actually promote peace. We can have peace programmes in English and Kiswahili, but also in other vernacular languages.”

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“They can contribute to a very large extent and I will give an example, we were involved in reaching out through the vernacular stations to educate communities on the gains of our new Constitution and so they have a big opportunity to ensure that the information reaches the local mwananchi who may not be able to understand Kiswahili or English.” “We should not do away with the vernacular stations for there are people who do not understand Kiswahili or English.”“Let us celebrity our diversity and accept who we are and teach our children the indigenous languages and not suppress them.”“Having radio stations broadcast in specific tribal languages does not necessarily fragment us as much as it could because most people speak more than one language.”“Let us use vernacular radio stations to train others on issues pertaining to democracy, the new Constitution, cohesion and human rights.”“We should not abolish ethnic media because everybody has a right to information and the old people can get to know what the government is saying. We can also educate people about their rights through these radio stations and teach the cultures of different tribes to the young people.”“Vernacular stations are not the cause of lack of peace. The cause of lack of peace is connected to the way we are brought up.” “The programmes on these radio stations should be positive and people should be sensitized and bring the messages that even our children can hear and learn. People need to be aware about the kind of damage, propaganda and hatred caused the country.” “There is no use in demonizing vernacular language as there is nothing wrong about speaking our languages. We need to see that the programmes being presented on

these stations are important and promoting peace and integration.”“The vernacular stations are very influential to a group of society who have very little exposure in the sense that they are local and also the language they use they may not be English or Kiswahili. Therefore, media become a window through which the local people are made to understand what is taking place in the country.”“We need to mitigate the negative effect of the vernacular radios because they are a good vehicle to use to reach a wider population. It is a very useful instrument to communicate health issues, economic issues and agricultural issues, so why can’t it be used to communicate peace messages.”“We should keep the ethnic media, because there are people who have not learned other languages, so if they do not know Kiswahili and English they will not understand. The problem is not an ethnic group or the language, the problem is how we appropriate these tools in order to relate with others.”“They can do a lot because they can reach the local people and this can be done if they have only one objective of promoting peace other than promoting hatred.”“One main thing should be to preach peace in their vernacular and to educate people. They could even hold barazas to educate people. It is through these groups that they can form coalitions to defend certain causes or to question what they feel are irregularities in government. They can also play a role in vetting leaders.” “If you are preaching peace to someone, you need to speak to them in the language they understand. If news is in Kigiriama, Kikisii or Dholuo, it does not matter, provided the content is clean.”“Most people when there is a conflict use vernacular media to

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give the picture of what we should be doing.” “We should not do away with vernacular news because of national heritage, and I think vernacular stations can also promote peace.”

As a tool of Separatism “I accuse the media on one front: the tribalization of the media through the airwaves, such that we have what we refer to as vernacular radio stations, which have in fact increased the level of tribalism. But again, media thrives on politics because these are people in business.”“It is an agency, which can be used for hate speech and negative ethnic identity. It is something that is very exclusive; you will lock out other people. They can’t follow what you are doing, you can use coded language.”“The media has not done a good job because it has tended to lean to the ethnic interests depending on who owns which media group.”“They can be used to promote peace but unfortunately many of them still pander to those male chauvinistic tendencies. The problem is that many of those stations tend to pay much ethnic driven political interests.”“Vernacular stations bring us to tribal line and it is not dismantling negative ethnicity.”“For the vernacular radio, people may not understand these other languages. This is another form of tribalism because there are things you want to pass on to the Luos and you don’t want other people to hear.”“They bring tension because they promote tribalism.”“Media contributed a lot and accelerated the violence in this country.” “I will still support the former President who had burnt the

vernacular stations and I think they need to be burned because when you are speaking in your mother tongue it gives you loyalty to your tribe and once you have loyalty to tribe you can never do anything else apart from your tribe. You talk in your tribe, you think your tribe and everything becomes your tribe.”“I think there is no way the tribal or the vernacular radio station can balance because how can they when everything is in vernacular and many people do not understand what the radio presenters are saying? The government needs to burn all the vernacular radio stations because they are dividing Kenyans.”“The news media play a big role in the divisions. If you watch news on the TV or listen to the radio all the news has a connotation. It is all twisted; you can always tell where the news is coming from. Most of the media is stereotyped and these stereotypes have been created by the media and they are causing conflicts and a lot of political problems in Kenya.”“We need them because not all people can understand Kiswahili and English. However they should not be used as a tool to divide people because previously it has been used as a tribal tool.” “Sometimes when you look at some of the media houses you find that they lack national representation even within the institution. You will find a specific media has over 80% of a single community and most of the debates and issues will be inclined to that tribe.”“The media have been misused by the politicians who want to air their own feelings against others. So they have been unprofessionally used to air out information which doesn’t promote peace.” “The vernacular stations should moderate the extent of mobilization of tribal tendencies and actions that could bring about tribal mobilization

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to act against other tribes.”“When there is good media presentation people get informed, but vernacular stations are good and dangerous at the same time. It promotes tribalism.”“What is lacking with those stations is the issue of moving out of their languages and using other languages. If we can get people to use other languages on every vernacular radio station it would be good for reconciliation and to help ourselves to integrate. This would reduce the hatred we have among ourselves. We need someone to initiate these programs and support them to see that they are followed.” “Currently they are the ones who are causing problems in this country. They are inciting people.” “I think they fragmenting the country even more, maybe they could provide slots for other languages in that particular place. Because the question is, where that station is based, don’t we have other tribes? Why can’t they mix these languages? So, they could say for example that the major part of the programme is for the ethnic group, but the rest of the time they could give to other tribes.”“The vernacular stations make it even worse because they hold discussions in the vernacular and most of these discussions lie along the ethnic divide.”“We should do away with them because they promote ethnic division.”“If you look at the 2008 violence, there was a major contribution by the media. If they had done their work the way they should, as custodians of democracy, that would never have happened.”“On one hand they can constructively build or help a country, because they can mobilize, but then there are also the separatists.”

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PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

When the respondents were asked whether Kenya needs reconciliation 93.3% said yes. This is an indication that majority of the people strongly believe that there is a need for reconciliation across the board. However, 6.7% thought that there was no need for reconciliation.

Views on if Kenya needs reconciliation:

However, there were varying views on who reconciliation ought to target, even though 60.8% of the respondents said that everyone should be targeted. On the other hand 17.8% felt that reconciliation should target the grassroots. It is obvious that although the majority felt everyone should be targeted, 4.2% were of the opinion that only those affected should be targeted.

Who should reconciliation initiatives target?

The research wanted to find out if there were people who did not think the country needed reconciliation, and 40.5% of the respondents thought that it was not needed. The reason for their response was that the whole process of reconciliation would be politicized. A sizeable number, 16.4% thought that Kenya does not need reconciliation and 12.7% said Kenya does not need

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reconciliation because the country was at peace. There may be need to find out how this percentage understand and define peace.

Views on why there is no need for reconciliation:

The question on how best to promote peace was raised and 27.5% said that the country should seek truth and reconciliation; 26.2% said Kenyans should engage in ‘a- forgive-and-forget’ process to let Kenyans move on. The percentages on the best way to promote peace were varied with 24.3% stating that there was a need for people to seek justice for those affected while 20.9% said that it should be through the formation of localized reconciliation process that have village based testimony and reconciling process.

How should reconciliation be done?

.Views on whether most of our conflicts are inherited?

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Most Kenyans, 36.4%, agreed that a lot of our conflicts are inherited, while 30.9% strongly agreed that indeed our conflicts are inherited. However, 21.7% did not agree that our conflicts were inherited while 9.9% strongly disagreed. And 1.2% could not say whether any of the choices availed to them would either support the fact that most conflicts in Kenya were inherited or otherwise.

Which institution is most preferred to lead reconciliation process?

The question on which institution would lead reconciliation process was open-ended and 53.4% of the respondents think that religious institutions are better placed to lead the process while 33.8% favour government with the TJRC and judiciary both at 18.9%. It is interesting to note that 13.9% thought that learning institutions could lead the process and 13.9% said civil society organisation should be given the responsibility.

The respondents had a variety of suggestions to who could lead the process and as can be seen in the graph there are those who think that parliament can be entrusted with leading the process at 4.1% and 2.8% thought security agents could bear the responsibility to lead reconciliation.

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What best explains your understanding of the sense of belonging?

The respondents were asked how they understood the issue of belonging, 57.4% said that they felt they belong when they are accepted and they in turn accept other people they live with. While 27.8% responded that they feel they belong when their rights are accepted; 7.1% attach belonging to ownership of property for they said they felt they belonged only where they owned property such as land title deed to what defines their sense of belonging; 6.7% felt that it was only where their tribe was that they felt they belonged and 1% did not agree with any of the options given to help understand how people understand the idea of belonging.

Views on what makes one belong to the place they live:

When asked whether they felt that they belonged to where they currently live, 49.9% said they felt they belonged because that is where they were born while 30.8% said they felt they belonged because they had lived in that place for more than 10 years. However, 19.3% were not in agreement with the options given which may show that there may be other issues that make people not to feel like they belong whether it is where they were born or where they have lived.

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Ratings of the sense of belonging:

The respondents were given choices to rate their sense of belonging in relation to the place where they currently reside. While 61.1% strongly felt that they belonged where they currently reside, 11.8% rated their sense of belonging as poor and 25.7% were in between. 1.4% did not agree with any of the options available.

Views on what makes one belong in a particular place:

On what characterises sense of belonging, 33.3% said that social abilities to integrate such as accepting the leadership of the place; 28.7% were of the view that one needs to accept the culture of the people one was living with; while 20.1% felt that it was living in the ancestral land and 15.3% thought it was to do with ownership of properties, such as land.

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Reasons why people will be uncomfortable living in some parts of the country:

The respondents were asked if there were parts of Kenya they would be uncomfortable to live in, and 35% said they would be uncomfortable to live in certain parts of the country for fear of their own security; while 29.3% said they could live anywhere. 26% said there were places where they could not live because of the attitude of the local residents and 8% said they could not live in certain parts of the country because when away from home they don’t trust anyone.

Counties people would prefer to live in if they were to move in a period of 10 years:

In line with the issue of belonging, respondents were given the option to name places or counties that they could relocate to. Nairobi county was the most favoured with 37.6% of the respondents saying that they would relocate there, then was Mombasa at 28.1% and then those who would still want to remain in their counties were 27.3%. It was interesting that some respondent would wish to relocate to Turkana at 2.9% higher than Malindi at 1.8% .

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Should government enact a policy to have three quarters of all public jobs within a county taken up by non-residents?

Views on whom you trust away from home and close friends:The question of whom do you trust away from home and close friends showed that 50% of the

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respondents don’t trust anyone they don’t know well and 29.1% said they only come to trust somebody after they have sounded out the person and only 10.6% said they trust everyone around them. Nevertheless it is important to note that 10.3% of the people don’t even trust people close to them.

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GOOD GOVERNANCE Views on whether respondents support three quarters of all public jobs in counties to be taken up non-residents

Kenyans want to see a national reflection at the county level since 55.46% of the respondents agreed that a policy should be formulated to ensure that three quarters of public jobs should go to non-residents.

Knowledge of the roles of an MP and Senator in the new Constitution:

54.27% of the respondents indicated that they know the difference between the roles of an MP and that of Senator as enshrined in the new Constitution.

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What Kenyans think of political party hopping six months to elections?

72.58 % of the respondents are against party hopping about six months to elections.

Should parliament enact law to check against political party hopping?

82.7% of the respondents are of the opinion that parliament should enact a law to check against political party hoping.

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Number of elective posts to be voted in the next general elections:

67.07 % of the respondents are aware of the number of elective posts in the upcoming general elections. However, 6.22% still think that voters will populate three elective posts.

Number of parliament/s there shall be in Kenya after elections:

Though the constitution states that, ‘There is established a Parliament of Kenya, which shallConsist of the National Assembly and the Senate’. Only 24% of the respondents understood

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it. However, 52.68% think there will be 2 parliaments. This could be a confusion of the terms parliament and chambers.

Rating of the quality and standard of the on-going political campaigns:

The quality and standard of on-going political campaign is below what Kenyans expect since 51.06% of the respondents ranked it either below average or very poor. Only 15.19% ranked it as very high.

Ratings of the current political parties in representing the face of Kenya:

52.1% of the respondents said that the political party’s representation of the face of Kenya is either below average or very poor; 8.71% see the political parties as representing the face of Kenya, while 39.19% of the respondents rank political parties averagely in representing the face of Kenya.

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What in your opinion is the main issue driving the on-going elections campaign?

Cumulatively, 55.19% of the respondents see self-interest, greed for power and tribalism as the main issues driving the on-going elections’ campaign. However, corruption, resources, peace, party politics and needs for the people were each ranked below 6%.

What in your opinion should be the main issue driving the upcoming general elections campaign?

45.25% of the respondents propose that peace and change should be the main issues driving the on-going elections campaigns; 2.51% hold that poverty eradication should be the main driving issue while 20.93% suggest that improved standard of living and economic development should drive the campaigns.

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Rating of the understanding of the functions of the county in our national governance structure as enshrined in the new Constitution:

84.42% of respondent rate their understanding of the county government as either very good or fair. Only 15.57% rate it as poor or very poor.

Views on if county governance is a solution to the challenge of national resource distribution:

75.08% of the respondents believe that county governance is a solution to the challenge of national resource distribution.

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Do you think counties will enhance national cohesion & integration?

Although 77.27% of the respondents said that counties will enhance national cohesion and integration, 31.74% of them said it will but with caution. 21.46% of the respondents think that counties will not promote national cohesion and integration.

Why county governance will enhance national cohesion and integration?

Of those who said yes, 41.15% believe it is because there shall be equitable distribution of resources. 30.73% believe it is because every county shall be responsible for its own development and a further 17.32 % said it is because counties that felt marginalised have a chance to run their affairs. 1.67% believe it is because tribal boundaries have been maintained while 9.13% don’t know why but just believe it will boost national cohesion.

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Why it will not enhance national cohesion and integration?

Those who said county governance will not enhance national cohesion had differing reasons: 44.27% believe it is because there are many corrupt leaders who will use money to enrich themselves; 22.21% feared that most counties are curved within one tribe hence inward looking; 27.3% cited the perception that county belong to the ‘indigenous’. However, 6.22% had no exact reason but just felt that county system will weaken national patriotism.

What will remain of the national character when counties are eventually established?

53.52% of the respondents believe that counties will be more developed therefore have strong economy.19.26% believe that counties will be stronger in character while 17.72% believe that people will focus more on than national identity. 9.5% said national character will be weak.

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Awareness on the cost implication of the county structure on county residents:

Only 28.09% of the respondents said they are not informed at all on the cost of the county governance on the citizens. A great percentage of 56.35% have some general understanding while only 15.55% are very informed.

Views on perception of the county governance:

46.36% of the respondents believe that county system will be costly to establish but sustainable in the long term, while 17.43% hold that it will be costly and unsustainable in the long run; 28.4% believe that it is a good idea though they don’t know the cost implication and 6.95% hold that autonomy is more important than the cost implication.

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Statements expressing views on the county governance:

43.89% agree that many resources in the counties will be utilised. As 24% agree that county system will create jobs for the youth, 9.55% agree that youths will henceforth find jobs in their counties while 22.56% agree that county governments will marginalize some people.

Should residents in multi-ethnic counties promote negotiated democracy?

52.87% of the respondents think that, in multi-ethnic counties, seats should be negotiated; 22.36% think that it should not be negotiated as 10.03% think it is a violation of individual rights. While 14.74% neither bother nor know about it.

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What is considered to be influence the way people will vote in the upcoming elections?

65.9% of the respondents consider candidates’ party (and party manifesto) as influential in the way people vote. This is followed by candidate individual appeal and financial capacity at 43.84%. 17.78% believe financial benefits advanced to voters during electioneering are more influential.

What individuals will consider to be most important factor to will determine how one vote:

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At a personal level 46.03% of the respondents will consider candidate appeal. This is followed by party manifesto at 39.31%. Tribe of candidate and financial benefits from candidate are considered by 5.7% and 6.15% respectively. Level of optimism on political stability at the national and the county level:

Both national political stability and county political stability are likely to be high after the up-coming elections since 72.82% rated national stability as either high or very high while 77.39% rank county stability as either high or very high.

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Level of optimism on economic growth after the coming elections at the national and county level:

National economic growth is ranked at 71.77% as either very high or high while 77% rank county economic stability as either high or very high.

Level of optimism on patriotism after the coming election at the national and the county levels:

65.75% of the respondents rate national patriotism as very high and high while 81.97% have hope that county patriotism will be high or very high.

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Perception on economic situation of individuals a year after the general elections:

74.28% of the respondents believe that their economic situation will improve in the next one year. While 9.47% believe it will remain the same.16.26% are sceptical that it will worsen.

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NEWS MEDIA AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

The media is a key institution in making information and communication available to the public and in the process facilitates the setting of the agenda on crucial national issues, such as election campaigns. Media were rated fairly in reporting about the on-going political campaigns at 56%, with 20.8% feeling satisfied with their reporting while

16.2% said they were below average and 7% rating them to be very poor.

Rate media in reporting on going political campaigns:

Are media biased in the way they report candidates seeking elective posts?

In terms of reporting on different candidates vying for elective posts, the majority of the respondents (63.4%) felt that the media were biased in the way they report about candidates for elective posts while only 36.6% felt that the media were not biased in its reporting.

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Do you approve of news and political debates in vernacular FM Stations?

Regarding the vernacular FM stations, though a majority (56.2%) approves them, a significant number (43.8%) felt that they did not approve news and political debates in vernacular stations. Majority (52.8%) approved on the bases that there are people who do not know English and Kiswahili very well hence may be left out in the national debates. Others (26.1%) felt that people have the right to expression while 21.1% felt that they promote active citizen participation in their locale.

Views on approval of news and political debates in vernacular FM stations:

Why disapprove news and political debates in vernacular FM stations

Those who disapproved the debates and news in vernacular had different reasons. 32.7% of the respondents felt that vernacular stations use coded language that may be used to pass inciting messages; while 27.6% felt media owners control news that gets into the public, hence may have influence on the public agenda. 24% of them felt that vernacular radios are another form of tribalism in the country with 15.6% feeling that during election, the media gets biased hence difficult to trust vernacular stations.

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Recommendations on what should be done for vernacular stations to enhance national integration and cohesion:

Minority of the respondents (16.9%) recommended that they use only qualified journalists to be presenters, others (22.9%) felt that the government should vernacular stations and insists on them to use either English or Kiswahili. Majority of the respondents (60.2%) recommended that the vernacular stations can be an instrument of national cohesion and integration if the media regulate themselves and impose strict penalties for FM radio stations violating others.

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SPECIAL TOPICS

EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In recent years there has been enormous growth in tertiary and university education. This has seen the expansion of both private and public universities opening up colleges and campuses across the county. According to this study, most of the respondents, 60.7%, were of the view that each county should have its own university; 27.3% were not in favour, while 8.8%

favoured the view on condition that the quality of education should not be compromised; 2.1% were for the view that it could be a good idea and 1.1% who were not sure if it was necessary. View on whether every county should have its own university:

EDUCATION AND TRIBALISMWith the approval of most respondents that every county have a university, there was a question as to whether that will promote tribalism. 50.6% were of the view that it will not promote tribalism, while 39.6% felt that it will actually promote tribalism and 9.8% were not sure if it that will be the case.

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Which of these educational options (if available) would prefer?

40.1% of the respondents would prefer that part of the education for students be done outside the county, 23.7% preferred that one studies in their home county if the quality is not compromised, 16.3% preferred that one studies at the home county because it is cheap, while 13.2% said they do not mind studying either in the home county or outside the county, with the least 6.7% opting to do all the education outside the county.

Competition between schools to excel vis a vis the quality of education in Kenya:

Most respondents felt competition between schools to excel is compromising the quality of education in Kenya at 73.5% while 26.5% of the respondents didn’t find a problem with competition amongst schools.

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MORAL FORMATIONThere was the question on whether the current system of education is blending moral formation of students and an overwhelming majority (81.2%) said that it does with only 18.8% saying that it does not. The moral deterioration is blamed on the media with 52.9% strongly agreeing that media does debase the morality of the children and 34.5% agreeing that somehow the media does debase the morality of children. Only 12.6 % disagreed that media do debase the morality of the children and youth.

Is current education system blending moral formation of students?

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Do you agree that media have debased morality of children youth?

Same sex marriage

In regards to same sex marriage, an overwhelming 91.9% of the respondents disapproved it and while 8.1% were in favour. Most (62.4%) of those who disapproved it based their decision on religious grounds that God created man and woman to be united in marriage. Others 15.6% said it was against human nature, 14.5% said it is immoral with 6.5% saying it’s a illness.

If yes why do you approve them?Of those who supported same sex marriages 34.6% argued that it is a human right, 26.7% said it wasn’t an issue for them, 20.4% argued it’s a natural tendency and 18.3% saying that we are in the twenty first century.

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If no why do you disapprove them

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ADDRESSING HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC

The government was rated lower than other organisations in its effort to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Those who viewed it to be either high or very high in its training and awareness creation were at 71.7% and 28.3% rating it low and very low. In providing care for those affected and infected, the government was rated at 57.1% being very high and high with 42.8% viewing it to be low and very low. In the provision of material resources the government was below average with 48.4% gauging it high and very high and 51.6% gauging it low and very low. When it comes to the provision of human resources, the government was still seen to be below average with those who gauged it high and very high ranging at 45.6% and 54.4% gauging them low and very low.

Rate government in awareness and training on HIV/AIDS:

Rate faith based institutions in awareness and training on HIV/AIDS:

The faith based organisations were rated the second best in dealing with HIV/AIDS in Kenya. 75.2% of the respondents rated them high and very high in creating awareness and training and 24.7% rating then low and very low. 70.6% rated them high and very high in providing care for those infected and affected. The orovision of material resource was rated at 59.4% as high and very high with 40.6% as low and very low. 57.8% rated them high and very high into human resource investment 42.2% being low and very low. 80.1% rated them high and very high in investing their human resource to the cause of HIV/AIDS.

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Rate NGOs in awareness and training on HIV/AIDS

Non-governmental Organisations were rated the best in dealing with the issues of HIV and AIDS. In creating awareness and training, they were rated at 91.3% as very high or high with 8.7% rating them low and very low. In the provision of care for those infected and affected, they were rated at 88.6% to be high and very high and 11.4% being the rate for low and very low. 83.5% rated them high and very high in investing their material resources for this cause with only 16.5% rating them low and very low.

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RESEARCH ASSISTANTSMumo NZAU, BA in Political Science; MA in International Relations & PhD in Political Science • Candidate, State University of New York, Buffalo.Mark KAPCHANGA, BA Commerce - Accounting and Msc Financial Economics • Fr Bernard NYANGERI, BA in Philosophy and MA in Theology• Ms Fatma Musa, Peace-building and Conflict Management, Diploma Public Relations• Deacon Dominic Kibet • Sr Bernadette Kele• Sheik Hamisi Mwaguzo• Mr Moses Odikor• Mr Hassan Yahya• Ms Pauline Amolo Ambrose• Mr Kennedy Masyuki Shadrack• Mr Kagai P. Gikubu• Ms Carolyne W. Karimi• Ms Veronica Lojao• Mr Daniel Psirmoi• Ms Jane Njuguna Yego• Mr Jonathan Chesesio• Mr Samuel Chepkuto• Mr Vincent Komen• Ms Wakio Mbogho• Mr Daudi Sipoi Max• Ms Rukia Yusuf• Ms Maureen Awino Adongo• Mr Pettrossy O.J. Otieno• Mr Hudson Maranga• Ms Agnes Obare• Fr Joseph Ngala• Ms Eyline Aluso• Ms Jemimah Lauzi• Ms Davanji Diana • Ms Safari Damaris• Mr Kennedy Onyango• Ms Maureen Maingi• Ms Vyonne Kuntai• Mr Erick Maghanga• Mr Meshach Nzisa• Mr Anthony Irari• Mr Muli Simon• Ms Mary Ndungu• Ms Venessa Manyek• Ms Esther Kerubo• Mr Joackim Sakwa• Ms Diana Akinyi• Mr Titus Njihia• Ms Teresia Wairimu• Ms Esther Maina• Ms Joyce Mwangi• Mr Michael Kilonzo•

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RESEARCH TEAM

LOGISTICS & ADMINISTRATION

PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER: Elias MOKUA, SJ, Director Jesuit Hakimani Centre, MA in Social Communication, Gregorian University, Rome, Doctorate in Journalism, the University of Melbourne, Australia.

SENIOR RESEARCHER: Protus O. OPONDO, SJ, Lecturer, Hekima College, BA in Philosophy, L’Institut De Philosophie (DRC); BA Theology, Hekima College (KE); MA in Practical Theology, Masters Degree in Social Work, Doctorate in Theology & Education, Boston College, USA.

SENIOR RESEARCHER: Blaise MURPHET, Communications, Research & Global Knowledge Transfer Officer; BA in Cinema Studies and MA in Global Media Communication, the University of Melbourne, Australia.

RESEARCHER: Sophia W. NGIGE, Programme Officer, Peace-building BA in Philosophy & Sociology, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, MA in Development Studies, University of Nairobi.

SENIOR RESEARCHER: Zacharia CHILISWA, Programmes’ Coordinator, BA in Philosophy, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Diploma in Journalism, Kenya Institute of Mass Communication and MA in Communication Studies, University of Nairobi.

RESEARCHER: Emmanuel K. TENDET, Programme Office, Governance, BA in Political Science and Sociology, University of Nairobi.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Aquinata Agonga, Intern Peace-building, BA in Education, Kenyatta University and MA in Peace Studies & International Relations, Hekima Institute of Peace Studies & International Relations

Sr. Ann-Jentrix MURUNDU, Administrative and Finance Officer

Anthony KAHINDI, Office and Transport Manager