David Throup and Charles Hornsby tell a sad and depressing story beautifully. Multi-party politics in Kenya is after all a story of murder, mayhem, gerrymandering, financial scandals, election rigging, unprincipled calculations of tribal and self-interest, defections, political resurrections and reincarnations. There are no heroes. It is a tragic farce in which none of the actors possesses the moral courage to do the right thing.

Focusing on the historic multi-party elections of December 29, 1992, the authors give a very capable history of Kenya's experience with pluralism. They rely on their first-hand experience in Kenya during the 1992 elections, the reports of domestic and international observers, and the Kenyan dailies. If it is true, as the authors insist, that relatively little scholarly attention has been given to multi-party politics in Kenya and Africa, then this book is a trailblazer. The sources are solid, the analysis rigorous, and the conclusions are consistent with the evidence.

The picture that this book paints of President Moi is not likely to be confused with the African statesman Andrew Morton describes in his recent book. Moi has described himself as a Professor of Politics, and in this book he indeed comes off as a professor, although in the tradition of a Machiavelli rather than an Einstein. From the earliest days of his presidency, Moi and his ruling party KANU were opposed to a multi-party democracy. They used every means at their disposal to derail the formation and registration of opposition parties-- detention without trial, the provincial administration, the registrar of societies, the attorney-general and courts of laws, even the police and hired KANU youthwingers. Only in December 1991, under intense domestic and international pressure, did Moi and KANU reluctantly agree to the legalization of opposition parties.

If Moi and KANU were reluctant converts to pluralism, the new opposition politicians all had their faults. When Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia launched the campaign for multi-party democracy in May 1990, there was much hope. Predictably, they were detained without trial. Their efforts, however, resulted in the formation of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) a year later. Within another year this broad coalition (and later, opposition party) would disintegrate into FORD-Kenya (led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga) and FORD-Asili (led by Kenneth Matiba). The Kenya National Congress (KNC) would spin off from FORD-Asili and Kenya's erstwhile Vice President Mwai Kibaki would form his Democratic Party (DP). Eight political parties nominated presidential candidates for the 1992 election. The opposition politicians did not, and maybe would not and could not, cooperate to fight a common enemy.

Throup and Hornsby make three main arguments. The first is that Kenyan voters have always rewarded politicians who could guarantee maendeleo (literally, development, but usually understood as patronage of state resources). The second is that in the minds of voters and politicians alike, ethnic calculations have always outweighed any ideological considerations. Lastly, the euphoria of pluralism created unrealistic expectations of change in the era of multi-party competition. The authors convincingly argue that Moi and KANU were determined to cling to power by any means, while the opposition politicians lacked any guiding political principle on the basis of which they could unite to unseat the ruling party. In the manner of a tragedy, Moi and the opposition deserve each other. The citizens, too, come in for blame because of their blindness to the common good and for voting strictly along ethnic lines. In dedicating the book to the people of Kenya, the authors hope the people may find the leaders they deserve. One may conclude by the end of the book that, despite all the evidence the authors adduce about KANU's manipulation of the polls and rigging the count in the 1992 elections, the people indeed got the leaders they deserve.

This book is an indispensable record of Kenyan history. The authors have succeeded in providing a detailed background for understanding not only the 1992 elections, but also post-1997 Kenya. The proliferation of parties has continued. In the December 1997 general elections, 27 opposition parties took part. More than a year later, Moi is yet to choose a Vice President. Dr. Richard Leakey, founder of the SAFINA party, resigned his seat in parliament to take back his old job as Director of Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) under the KANU government. Raila Odinga, leader of the National Development Party of Kenya (NDPK), is leading his party in a near-formal cooperation with KANU. There was a historic parliamentary debate on a "no confidence" motion against Moi and KANU in 1998. Raila Odinga led the vote against the motion. Paul Muite is under a cloud for extorting millions of shillings from Kamlesh Pattni of the Goldenberg Scandal. KANU is stronger than it was before pluralism. The authors are right in their assessment that this state of affairs is not going to change in the foreseeable future.

The book has no major faults. There are a few misspellings of people and place names. None of this detracts from the cogent analysis and sound conclusions. This is a book that will be invaluable to Africanists, and indeed anyone with an interest in African politics. More importantly, it is a historical record that should be examined by Kenyans interested in the future of their homeland. Kenyans deserve better leadership. This book should remind them.

Samuel Oluoch Imbo
Department of Philosophy
Hamline University