Of clans and negotiated democracy in Kenya

NAIROBI: Last week the epitome of a form of what has come to be known as negotiated democracy was witnessed in Mandera county where the Gari clan of the Somali ethnic group decided to send home the entire elected leadership of the county, from the Governor down to the MCAs.

The powerful Gari Council of Elders have an almost final say over who should be elected in Mandera except in two constituencies inhabited by other ethnic groups. In 2013, a similar arrangement led to the election of the current leadership. Apparently in Mandera, the election proper is a mere formality.

Across the country, the nature of diverse demographic structure have created the necessity for different ethnic groups to share power in elected leadership.

The Mandera version is an extreme case of negotiated democracy where a selected group of 20 elders determine the fate of the political class. It is a perverse form of democracy to say the least. The rationale behind the decision to drop the current group of leadership is to rotate the leadership so that the interest of other sub-clans are accommodated. The decision is not informed by performance or the ability of any leader. What some say is that performance is secondary to direct benefits.

There is a general feeling of apathy by the people when it comes to their perception of their leaders, not only in Mandera but nationally; that public service is about enriching oneself and therefore leadership should be rotated to give others time "to eat" as well.

Even though this form of rotational leadership has been found to deny people their democratic right based on the universal suffrage, it seems to make sense especially when chances of a small number of people to monopolise the politics of the country might in the long run, exclude a large section of the society from taking part in governance.

No doubt, the drafters of the 2010 Constitution wanted the best system of governance and inclusivity in the country. In fact, our governance system under this Constitution shows there has been every intention to create proper checks and balances and adequate representation for gender, people with disabilities and other excluded categories.

The Constitution, however, does not specifically talk about negotiated democracy per see, but it mentions it in spirit. Yet this concept seems to be gaining root in our electoral system. Different communities are adopting negotiated democracy not so much to increase accountability but to strengthen inclusion and access to resources and services.

According to Swiss political scientist Klaus Armingeon, there are three types of negotiated democracies. The first one is "consociational democracy" which is practiced where no particular social economic group can form a majority on their own. Like in many counties, diverse ethnic groups compete for political power but need support from other like-minded ethnic groups to form a government.

The second type of negotiated democracy according to Armingeon is "corporatism". In these model, entities like the trade unions, employer's organisations and government develop a goal to enhance social economic development. Here it is not merely to include different groups but for the sole purpose of increasing efficiency and transparency. The third form is called "a regime of veto players". A common example is the democracy practiced in the United States where other than the three arms of government other constitutional offices are created to ensure a proper system of checks and balances.

The Kenyan system seems to incorporate the first and the third form of negotiated democracy, this has mainly been confined to the national government and the effect of particularly the regime of veto players can hardly be seen in the counties. Consociational democracy is very common in the counties. However, when political power is being negotiated in the Kenyan context, in most cases, it is to accommodate and include communities with less numerical strength in the leadership process. It is also done to avoid conflict. Some form of negotiated democracy is also intended to lock out certain ethnic groups.

A good example is when several minority groups form a majority, they turn a dominant group into a minority. A case in example is Marsabit county where the Gabra, Rendille, Burji and some Somali clans formed an alliance to lock out the dominant Borana tribe. In Mandera, the Gari and the Murule clans of the larger Somali tribe formed a coalition to lock out Degodia clan. In Tana River, a similar form of negotiated democracy locked out the Pokomo, which previously dominated the political landscape of this county.

At the national level, In the aftermath of the 2008 post election violence in Kenya, Kofi Annan the former Secretary General of the UN brokered a deal between the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) and the PNU Alliance led by former President Kibaki. The National Accord brought about by a negotiated framework created the Government of National Unity where Mr Kibaki was president dand Mr Odinga as prime minister.

The concept of negotiated democracy is therefore not new. Even to the candidates gearing up for elections next year. William Ruto will support Uhuru Kenyatta from 2013-2022. Thereafter, Mr Kenyatta must whip his supporters to support Mr Ruto. Just like Moses Wetang'ula is pleading with Mr Odinga to throw his weight behind him. Let's negotiate.