Coalition Governments and the Quest for Accountability in Kenya

The role of coalition governments in promoting accountability has gained traction among scholars recently, especially in Africa. Whilst coalition governments are formed for different reasons – office-seeking and policy-oriented motives, these motives often influence how the coalition governments propagate and inculcate the principles of good governance while in government. In Kenya, three coalition governments emerged between 2002–2017. The emergence of these three coalition governments followed a prolonged struggle on the part of the citizens both within and outside the country with the goal of restoring good governance. The central argument of this paper is that, whilst coalition governments initiated a raft of reforms – institutional, legal and policy aimed at promoting accountability in government, very little was achieved to this end. Accountability challenges, including corruption, human rights abuses, elite impunity and state capture, remained endemic in government institutions. In some cases, service provision deteriorated. Given this scenario, this paper argues that there is a need to go beyond enacting good laws and policies. The focus should be on implementation and enforcement. In the long run, this will guarantee sustainable accountability in government institutions. Secondly, a constituency of like-minded citizens should continue agitating for accountability as part of the broader national interest and holding coalition governments accountable.