#4: Who runs Kenya?

Our fourth prompt comes from Kamungai. He asks:

Is Kenya run by an elite club into which you can only join by invitation?

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Kamungai,

Your question brings to mind many things, the first of which is political theory. I’ve been revisiting my uni philosophy readings (almost all of which are by dead white men), and the past couple of days have focused on Aristotle. He asks two questions when assessing political systems. Question one: who rules? How many people exercise ruling power? Question two: in whose interest? Self-interest or that of the community? 

He classifies them into six: where one person rules for the benefit of the community, it is a monarchy. Where a few rule for the benefit of the community, it is aristocracy. Where many rule for the benefit of the community, it is polity. On the other hand, when one person rules for his or her own benefit, we get tyranny. Where a few rule for their own benefit, we have an oligarchy. Where many people rule for their own benefit, we have democracy.

Kenya is an oligarchy. A few people rule for their own benefit. The rest of us? We either watch despondently, fight the system, or work hard to become a part of it. So how does one become a part of this oligarchy? Well, we have to look at possible sources of power in such a system. In 1959, social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven identified five bases of power, whose patterns emerge in any organization/system.

  1. Legitimate power, which is power one actually holds based on one’s elected, selected or appointed position. This power comes with responsibilities, and a person with such power can expect compliance from those he/she presides over.
  2. Reward power, where one offers tangible or intangible rewards for compliance.
  3. Coercion power, where one uses the threat of force to gain compliance.
  4. Expert power, where one is powerful due to their high levels of skill, knowledge or talents.
  5. Referent power, which is when one has power due to their affiliations and the social groups they belong to.

In 1965, they added a new power base: informational power, which comes from a person’s ability to control information needed by others to achieve certain goals.

These bases of power will all grant you access to Kenya’s elite, but with varying degrees of success. For example, the acquisition of legitimate power depends on one’s wallet and ethnicity more than it does expertise. Legitimate power is more valued than expert power in this country, which is why we treat doctors, teachers, lecturers and other professionals like garbage.

Legitimate power is sought because it increases one’s reward and coercion power. You gain power over your peers, friends and relatives because you can reward them for compliance with access to resources and opportunities, and through the illegal use of state power. On the other hand, you can also punish them for non-compliance, through the same illegal use of state power and the denial of access to resources and opportunities. You also get to enjoy control over critical information, so you are always kilometres ahead of the people who are not part of this oligarchy.

Referent power comes with the job. You get to be called Mheshimiwa or Mkubwa, which lets you get away with almost anything in this country. As you can see, an invite (which would fall under referent power) is not the only way in. However, it is the source of power with the lowest barrier to entry in this country.

Expertise takes time to build. Information requires effort to get. Reward and coercion power actually need the other person to be “buying what you are selling.” And legitimate power? Someone actually needs to give it to you. Referent power on the other hand? One just needs to be born at the right time, at the right place, and to the right people. If you win this lottery at birth, you have it made. Easy, right?

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This post is part of a daily writing experiment that I’m running for a year. I’d love it if you took part! 🙂

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