A look at the region’s political scene reveals the grim struggle between those in power and those who oppose them, in a way that augurs ill for the political pluralism they have all subscribed to, at least on paper.
The gap between the written constitutional provisions, which set up multi-party dispensations, and what happens on the ground grows wider every year.
In Kenya, the opposition, led by lynchpin Raila Odinga of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), has locked horns with President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee coalition on the former’s insistence on the reform of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which the opposition claims is biased in favour of the ruling coalition.
So far, some deaths have occurred from police shooting during demonstrations called by Mr Odinga and his supporters to force President Kenyatta to agree to a negotiated settlement of the matter.
Apart from the wrangle over the electoral body, Mr Odinga has appended other issues for discussion, including what he terms rampant corruption and ethnically biased appointments to government positions.
On its part, the presidential coalition, which includes Deputy President William Ruto, has vacillated between a hard stance and conciliation, stating that the opposition is free to continue with its demonstrations, but that police would take stern action against offenders, a grim warning when people have already been shot. FULL STORY