Don’t blame Kenyans but the adopted multi-parties system
By Lago Gatjal Riaka
January 7, 2007 — Previously, Dominic Woja Maku wrote an article in title “Kenya: Will Democracy Hold in Africa”? This question is a very controversial one depending on how individuals might understand it in all angles. It is a question that can be analyze from different perspectives depending on how individuals understand the world and its evolution. In order for an individual to answer this question, it will require an understanding of African societies, and then determine whether democracy might work in Africa or not. Understanding African societies will include paying attention to African cultures, norms, traditions, practices, and transcends that shape their daily lives.
Whether democracy hold in Africa or not will depend on how Africans apply it to their societies. Also, the type of democracy that Africans will need will also have more influences in whether it works or not. Since African societies are different from the Western world, Africans will need a different type of democracy than multi-parties system that the Western world has imported to African societies. Multi-parties system is not the right democracy in Africa because it causes tension between ethnic groups when it comes to its application. Africans need a different kind of democracy in which in my view would be a single political party that would bring all communities together. For instance, in the current situation in Kenya, I’ll like to give you a brief background of Kenya and what created the tension that erupted in Kenya.
Before 1997 when the multi-party system was introduce in Kenya, the country was under single party system ‘Kenya African National Unity.’ During this time, Kenyans were never in tension along ethnic lines. But, a struggle for political and economic power remained one of the challenges Kenyan were facing during this time and even in the current crises. Otherwise, there was no tension between the Luo, Kikuyu, and other ethnic communities. Although their ethnicity existed, KANU brought all Kenyans together as one people. All Kenyans were members of the KANU. Because of this structure, it was difficult for one ethnic group to rise against another because that division along ethnic lines was invisible. KANU as a political party brought all Kenyans together to see themselves as one people. Although one ethnic group might elect only their political person from their ethnic group during election, that act was not much seen compared to multi-parties system that was introduce in 1997.
When the multi-party system was introduce in 1997, those ethnic lines became visible because parties aligned with ethnic groups instead of caring about issues like in the Western world. This is one thing that the Western worlds misunderstand when they advocate for multi-parties system in multi-ethnic societies. The fact is that multi-parties system is a very challenging system in a multi-ethnic society because it causes tension between communities. Therefore, when Africans fight during elections, outsiders must understand this challenge Africans are facing in trying to adopt this system in their societies. When Africans fight during elections for instance in Kenya, people like Maku jump to conclusion by blaming Africans mentioning words like tribalism and racism among Africans. One thing that these people forget is the fact that they put the blame on Africans instead of blaming the system itself which Africans are trying to adopt in their societies.
Africa in general is all European countries, United States, China, South East Asia, South America, and Africa put together. Kenya is also all European countries and other countries put together. Imagine you put all these countries together and some how choose Spanish, French, English, Chinese, or Porguese as the national language. And Chinese is chosen as the national language, the rest of the people in the country would not like that since they have to go to school to learn Chinese in order to be able to speak it. The people who would make up a country like that would come from different backgrounds; languages, traditions, cultures, and norms. As a result, confusion would rise in that country which might break into civil war. If you understand this analogy, it is Africa. It is also Kenya and other countries in Africa.
Africa is faced by challenges of trying to adopt this system in their societies. It is not only in Africa. It happened in former Yugoslavia where after an introduction of multi-parties system led to break up of Yugoslavia into six different states. Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Slovenia, and Macedonia are the six different states of former Yugoslavia. Therefore, Africans can not be blame when confusion rises among their communities in trying to adopt a system that they don’t understand. Instead, those who know how the system work should to teach Africans on its application. Adopting multi-parties system in Africa will remain a challenge for centuries to come because it is a difficult one when it comes to multi-ethnic societies. Kenya will not be the only country where this tension rises, in fact it will happen across Africa for centuries to come as people align their ethnic groups with political parties.
Africans should be working in adopting a single-party system like in Kenyan and former Yugoslavia used to be. A national party that would bring all ethnic groups together for instance, ‘Kenyan African National Unity’ would be a good political party that would bring Kenyans together. But, a challenge to a single party is that leaders in Africa elected to the offices than take advantage of it by running the country under dictatorship which then become a problem in African societies. If African leaders are loyal to their voters and respect the right of their own people; politically and economically, it is not a problem for Africans to live in a single party state. But, the Western world that advocate for multi-parties system around the world don’t understand this problem and this possibility that Africans need a different kind of democracy but not the one they have in the West; multi-parties system.
The author is based in Moorhead, Minnesota, U.S.A. He can be reached at [email protected]