| Summary: | This article provides an overview of politics and government in Kenya and its significant role in the United States war on terrorism. On December 27, 2002, more than five million Kenyans went to the polls to elect Mwai Kibaki as their country's third president. The election marked the end of the 24-year presidency of Daniel arap Moi and an opportunity for Kenya to return to its once-vanuted record of political stability and economic growth. Kenya's fortunes declined sharply when arap Moi took power in 1978. Moi turned Kenya into his personal fief, a kleptocracy under which KANU leaders looted with impunity. Corruption became the principal mechanism for regime maintenance. Kenya's transition to democracy, which lasted from the late 1980s through the 2002 elections, was marked by a protracted struggle between Moi and those seeking to pry open the political system. Four challenges remain to the democratization of Kenya. The first is to reform Kenyan governance. This means not bringing in competent people to run the government at the top, but also changing the civil service from the bottom up. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush must be sensitive to Kenya's domestic politics if it wants to advance its agenda in the region.
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