In the United States and the modern western world, we have long held the fundamental governmental principles of governmental integrity and basic human rights. As we have always known a world where these values are ensured, we don’t often think about how vitally important they really are. However in less developed countries, like many in Africa, these principles are often not upheld.
The Kenyan presidential election conducted in August was recently annulled by Kenya’s Supreme Court, due to a procedural violation which rendered the election “neither transparent nor verifiable”. The infraction cited was a declaration of the results before all the polls were counted. Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been president since 2013, was reelected before the vote was annulled. Kenyatta has had a history of political corruption alleged and crimes against humanity. Another concerning aspect in the court’s ruling was the failure of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to grant access to its computer system and the poll data. The fact that the Supreme Court could not gain access to this evidence shows a lack of authority and organization in their government. The disarray which this annulment caused will only serve to undermine the government’s reputation even further and create resentment among Kenya’s population. If stability is to be established, faith in the government needs to be improved, both in the eyes of the Kenyan people and the international community.
Human rights and individual freedoms are also being increasingly infringed upon in the region. Usually these instances correspond to unpopular leaders trying to suppress discontented citizens from speaking out against them. Tanzania has recently shut down a newspaper for publishing articles criticizing the president. This was actually the second case of a newspaper ban in the past year. A opposition lawyer was even shot by gunmen, possibly sent by the government to discourage legal confrontation. Meanwhile in Togo, the government has taken down cellular service to keep citizens from organizing online in their calls for political reform. This barrier has only caused greater strife and more protests, involving many injuries, even the death of a 9-year-old boy. In both cases the governmental leaders are clearly highly unpopular and willing to trample on their citizens to stay in power. This sort of treatment, however, only increases tensions and cannot be a good boding for long-term political stability.
Overall the political instability and discontented masses in many African Nations are concerning and may lie at the heart of issues such as poverty and lack of infrastructure. Despite the existence of Constitutions in most of the African Nations, if there is no way to effectively ensure that they are followed, then their governments can quickly come to work like autocracies. And once this devolution occurs, those with the power have little interest in keeping the people content. If stability and standards of living are to be improved in the region over the long term, the restructuring of governments to prevent corruption is undoubtedly necessary.
Article posts:
Tanzania: Rights Groups: Freedom of the Press Under Fire in Tanzania
Kenyan election annulled after result called before votes counted, says court – The Guardian
Togo protests: Why are people marching against Faure Gnassingbé? – BBC