Informal arrangements are becoming part of our political culture

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga when they shook hands as a sign of reconciliation at Harambee House in Nairobi on March 9, 2018. (File, Standard)

The ongoing political waltz between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his ex-nemesis Raila Odinga defines the peak of Kenya’s political culture where, as political strategist Cyprian Nyamwamu says, “the informal trumps the formal.” Historically one of our best “informal trumping formal” was the 2008 Kofi Annan settlement. What many people forget is that the process was concluded and even partially implemented long before a legal framework was put in place.

This season is no different. The drama started when anti-IEBC riots threatened the country’s delicate peace. The IEBC, as a constitutionally protected commission, was technically safe from NASA’s demands for its dissolution. But through what was largely an informal process, the entire commission was sent home and a fresh one hurriedly appointed.