The Formation and Instability of Coalition Governments in Kenya

What is it about?

Despite the emergence of the three coalition governments, coalition politics in Kenya has remained volatile, unstable, and prone to infighting and disunity. In most cases, they have been ad hoc and hastily formed. In some cases, they have emerged as temporary tools for political power contestation. Most of the coalitions have been formed on the basis of political patronage and personality politics. What, therefore, is the rationale for the formation of coalition governments? What are the sources of their [in]stability? This paper, therefore, is an attempt to understand the causes, factors and motivations that influenced the formation of the three coalition governments in Kenya. The paper is organised in three parts; Part One discusses the formation and the dynamics that informed the NARC government, Part Two delves on the Grand Coalition Government; and Part Three interrogates the Jubilee Alliance Government. As highlighted, the three coalition governments are the foci of analysis. The paper aims at complementing extant scholarship in this subject area. The paper draws upon secondary and primary data. The analysis of the three coalition governments is informed by fieldwork conducted during the author’s doctoral studies. The analysis and discussion also draws upon media reporting on the coalition governments in Kenya.

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