Kenya’s flawed transition in 1992: The impetus and factors that led to a flawed transition at the founding elections in Kenya in 1992

Abstract

This paper will look closely at the initial stages of the Kenyan transition in the run up to the founding elections of December 1992. In particular it will converge the characteristics unique to Kenya, which have led to its flawed transition. The paper will closely examine whether Kenya fits the theoretical model described by Bratton and van der Walle in which the distinctive characteristic of democratic transition in Africa, as compared to the rest of the world, is that most were initiated from below. It will contrast that with the theoretical model of O’Donnell and Schmitter who emphasized the key role of elite interaction and strategic choice during the transition and in most cases ascribed limited importance to mass mobilization from below. In other words did the impetus for transition in Kenya come from masses or from within regime?