HOW SOCIAL MOVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS CONTRIBUTED TO DEMOCRACY IN
KENYA.
Just like other countries, Kenya has had numerous social movements pushing for a specific
reform in the government. In this case, the issue is not focused on one single sphere of the human
life since the political social and economic spheres are all part of the revolutions that have
happened in Kenya since before independence to the contemporary world. Kenya has had
multiple social movements focused on either reforms of the constitution or the revolution of the
government as a whole. However, many of these attempts have failed due to ethnic and social
class divisions while some were successful as a result of social mobilization and external forces.
As research shows, many African countries have struggled to have a stable government with
inclusion of the public spheres and therefore, Kenya is not an exception to this element taking
into account that the constitution had to undergo different reforms brought about by the pressure
from the civil society and other factors.
Taking a deeper look at the issue of reforms forced by social movements in African countries,
one can deduce that in colonization times, the only thing that mattered a lot is independence.
However, it is from the independence that most of the residents of any given country realize that
the government isn’t perfect and as such, they push for reforms in the original constitution which
would pave the way for full democracy which would consider the inclusion of all the cultural,
religious and social identities of the country. Therefore, the social sphere has accounted for many
of the reforms conducted in Kenya in an aim to bring a balance to the sociopolitical dimension
through bringing equity to the distribution of resources and ending authoritarianism.
To bring a develop a proper understanding of the changes that brought about the democracy in
Kenya, which allowed for a multi-party system in the country, one has to explore the history of
the social movements. In this context, one of the social movements that can be explored in this
case is the Mau Mau rebellion and how it contributed to the independence of Kenya. The reason
why this is an important element to explore is the fact that it was the first ever revolution in the
country which acted as the root for the social movements that followed. The highlight of the
revolution came in 1963 when Kenya was granted independence from the British government
and developed the idea in the country that social movements can cause significant changes in the
governance and that the mobilization of people could actually cause a change.
KENYA.
Just like other countries, Kenya has had numerous social movements pushing for a specific
reform in the government. In this case, the issue is not focused on one single sphere of the human
life since the political social and economic spheres are all part of the revolutions that have
happened in Kenya since before independence to the contemporary world. Kenya has had
multiple social movements focused on either reforms of the constitution or the revolution of the
government as a whole. However, many of these attempts have failed due to ethnic and social
class divisions while some were successful as a result of social mobilization and external forces.
As research shows, many African countries have struggled to have a stable government with
inclusion of the public spheres and therefore, Kenya is not an exception to this element taking
into account that the constitution had to undergo different reforms brought about by the pressure
from the civil society and other factors.
Taking a deeper look at the issue of reforms forced by social movements in African countries,
one can deduce that in colonization times, the only thing that mattered a lot is independence.
However, it is from the independence that most of the residents of any given country realize that
the government isn’t perfect and as such, they push for reforms in the original constitution which
would pave the way for full democracy which would consider the inclusion of all the cultural,
religious and social identities of the country. Therefore, the social sphere has accounted for many
of the reforms conducted in Kenya in an aim to bring a balance to the sociopolitical dimension
through bringing equity to the distribution of resources and ending authoritarianism.
To bring a develop a proper understanding of the changes that brought about the democracy in
Kenya, which allowed for a multi-party system in the country, one has to explore the history of
the social movements. In this context, one of the social movements that can be explored in this
case is the Mau Mau rebellion and how it contributed to the independence of Kenya. The reason
why this is an important element to explore is the fact that it was the first ever revolution in the
country which acted as the root for the social movements that followed. The highlight of the
revolution came in 1963 when Kenya was granted independence from the British government
and developed the idea in the country that social movements can cause significant changes in the
governance and that the mobilization of people could actually cause a change.
