Macrobius
03-04-09, 08:20
(Book on Kenyan politics)
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft9h4nb6fv&brand=ucpress
'The Rise of the Party-State in Kenya'
(ch. 5)
Between 1980 and 1985, the kinds of strategies used to manage competing claims on resources and roles shifted dramatically. There could be no better summary of this change than the difference between the slogans employed by Kenyatta on the one hand and Moi on the other. The celebrated cry of "Harambee!" with which Kenyatta concluded his speeches had encapsulated the late president's approach to politics. At one level harambee bespoke a preference for local-level community action to achieve collective benefits or "development." At another level it embodied a strategy of bargained exchange; Kenyans could "pull together" by compromise—by sacrificing rewards or labor in the knowledge that at some other time or through private means the contribution would be reciprocated—and by refusal to enshrine the interests of one group above all others in the party, or, indeed, in the cabinet. Moi introduced a different slogan and a different conception of appropriate political strategy. "Nyayo!" ("Follow in the footsteps") took the place of "Harambee!" Although the slogan was intended to convey respect for Kenyatta and highlight the need to pursue the course the first president had set for the country, nyayo acquired a second interpretation: do what the Office of the President tells you to do. Politics as control began to take the place of politics as exchange.
In December 1978, Moi was hailed internationally when he released all of those held under Kenya's detention laws. The move seemed to herald a "new era of tolerance" in the view of Amnesty International
― 131 ―
and local observers alike. Although Kenyatta had emphasized that the country's human rights record was far better than that of its neighbors, Amnesty International had decried the detention of politicians associated with the Rift Valley opposition of 1972–75. Moi's action seemed a step toward greater pluralism and greater openness. But that assessment ignored the more likely significance of the release, which had the practical effect not only of demonstrating goodwill but also of reviving the careers of some potential allies against a Kiambu-based coalition.
...
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft9h4nb6fv&brand=ucpress
'The Rise of the Party-State in Kenya'
(ch. 5)
Between 1980 and 1985, the kinds of strategies used to manage competing claims on resources and roles shifted dramatically. There could be no better summary of this change than the difference between the slogans employed by Kenyatta on the one hand and Moi on the other. The celebrated cry of "Harambee!" with which Kenyatta concluded his speeches had encapsulated the late president's approach to politics. At one level harambee bespoke a preference for local-level community action to achieve collective benefits or "development." At another level it embodied a strategy of bargained exchange; Kenyans could "pull together" by compromise—by sacrificing rewards or labor in the knowledge that at some other time or through private means the contribution would be reciprocated—and by refusal to enshrine the interests of one group above all others in the party, or, indeed, in the cabinet. Moi introduced a different slogan and a different conception of appropriate political strategy. "Nyayo!" ("Follow in the footsteps") took the place of "Harambee!" Although the slogan was intended to convey respect for Kenyatta and highlight the need to pursue the course the first president had set for the country, nyayo acquired a second interpretation: do what the Office of the President tells you to do. Politics as control began to take the place of politics as exchange.
In December 1978, Moi was hailed internationally when he released all of those held under Kenya's detention laws. The move seemed to herald a "new era of tolerance" in the view of Amnesty International
― 131 ―
and local observers alike. Although Kenyatta had emphasized that the country's human rights record was far better than that of its neighbors, Amnesty International had decried the detention of politicians associated with the Rift Valley opposition of 1972–75. Moi's action seemed a step toward greater pluralism and greater openness. But that assessment ignored the more likely significance of the release, which had the practical effect not only of demonstrating goodwill but also of reviving the careers of some potential allies against a Kiambu-based coalition.
...