KANU

From October 1952 to December 1959, Kenya was under a state of emergency arising from the "Mau Mau" rebellion against British colonial rule. During this period, African participation in the political process increased rapidly. The first direct elections for Africans to the Legislative Council took place in 1957.

The Kenya African National Union was founded in 1960.

The Kenya African Democratic Union[?] (KADU) was founded in 1960, to challenge KANU. KADU's aim was to defend the interests of the small minority tribes, such as the Kalenjin[?] to which Moi belonged, against the dominance of the big Luo[?] and Kikuyu tribes that comprised the majority of Kanu's membership (Kenyatta himself being a Kikuyu). KADU pressed for a federal constitution, while KANU was in favour of centralism. The advantage lay with the numerically stronger KANU, and the British government was finally forced to remove all provisions of a federal nature from the constitution.

Kenya became independent on December 12, 1963, and the next year joined the Commonwealth. Jomo Kenyatta, a member of the predominant Kikuyu tribe and head of the Kenya African National Union, became Kenya's first president. KADU dissolved itself voluntarily in 1964 and joined KANU.

A small but significant leftist opposition party, the Kenya People's Union[?] (KPU), was formed in 1966, led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga[?], a former vice president and Luo elder. The KPU was banned and its leader detained after political unrest related to Kenyatta's visit to Nyanza Province. No new opposition parties were formed after 1969, and KANU became the sole political party. At Kenyatta's death in August 1978, Vice President Daniel arap Moi became interim President. On October 14, Moi became President formally after he was elected head of KANU and designated its sole nominee.

In June 1982, the National Assembly amended the constitution, making Kenya officially a one-party state, and parliamentary elections were held in September 1983. The 1988 elections reinforced the one-party system. However, in December 1991, parliament repealed the one-party section of the constitution. By early 1992, several new parties had formed, and multiparty elections were held in December 1992.

President Moi was reelected for another 5-year term. Opposition parties won about 45% of the parliamentary seats, but President Moi's KANU Party obtained the majority of seats. Parliamentary reforms in November 1997 enlarged the democratic space in Kenya, including the expansion of political parties from 11 to 26. President Moi won re-election as President in the December 1997 elections, and his KANU Party narrowly retained its parliamentary majority, with 109 out of 122 seats.

On December 29, 2002, the Kenyan electoral commission confirmed that the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) had won landslide victories over the ruling KANU party, ending 40 years of single party rule and 24 years of rule by Daniel arap Moi.

External links

• http://www.kanu-kenya.org/
• BBC report of KANU defeat (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2612427.stm)