A tribute to Joel Barkan, friend of Kenya

Dr Joel D. Barkan, the foremost authority on Kenya in Washington DC, passed away on January 10.

At the time of his sudden and untimely death, Joel was senior associate of the Brookings Institution, one of the most prestigious think-tanks in the world.

In one of the obituaries for Joel, a friend wrote:

“As a result of Joel’s efforts, Washington enjoys a mature and multifaceted relationship with Kenya.

While activists always saw Kenya on the precipice of state failure, Joel counselled people to take a longer and more objective view of Kenyan affairs.”

I agree. Indeed, Joel was a genuine friend of Kenya.

He hosted many Kenyans at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and other forums for a dialogue with scholars and policy makers in Washington DC.

I was his guest on several occasions. In fact, Joel chaired the meeting of the Kenya Working Group at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC in October last year where I was the chief guest while he moderated the discussions.

Alas, that was the last time I saw him.

Joel’s aim was always to get out authentic information on Kenya to those who matter in Washington.

His voice carried weight because it was backed by many years of close interactions with the country as well as the numerous articles and books on democracy in Kenya that he wrote.

Joel was the first regional democracy and governance adviser for eastern and southern Africa for the US Agency for International Development (USAid) from 1992 to 1994.

He authored his seminal book, Beyond Capitalism Versus Socialism in Kenya and Tanzania, in 1994 and his latest, Emerging Legislatures in Emerging African Democracies, is still forthcoming.

Joel consistently argued against the one-party rule and the pseudo multi-party regime of President Moi.

He was overjoyed with the victory of the Rainbow Coalition in 2002, but his optimism had to be tempered subsequently.

He foresaw the risks of ethnic violence ahead of the 2007 elections, but once the violence erupted, called for tolerance and mutual accommodation.

Joel was appalled with the flawed elections in 2013 in which he felt the Supreme Court was the ultimate loser.

Despite these tribulations, when I saw him last, Joel was optimistic about Kenya as ever.

His love for Kenya was unfettered.

Let me cite a few lines from his writings which I believe are still pertinent in guiding our country forward.

Commenting on our first multi-party elections in 1992 he wrote: “The Kenyan experience … tells us that elections per se are not enough to guarantee a successful democratic transition in Africa today, just as they failed to do so at the end of the colonial era 30 years ago.

Elections are but one event in the long process of establishing a political culture and institutions supportive of democratic rule.”

During the post-election violence of 2008, he wrote: “As India discovered in the 1950s and Nigeria realised in the 1980s, the most promising mechanism for defusing linguistic and ethnic strife is to restructure the basic ground rules of the political game.

Given the prominence of ethnicity in African politics, democratisation across the continent will require more than expanding the political and economic rights of individuals.

In Kenya — and elsewhere on the continent — accommodation of group rights must be part of the equation.”

As I reflect on the current state of political discourse in Kenya, the question that occupies me most is this — how can the group rights and interests be accommodated under the current presidential system?

In many African countries, the presidential system has proved overbearing even in the presence of a large number of political parties in Parliament.

The President compensates for the separation of powers by manipulating his “tool kit” (positions, budget, etc) to keep a large number of parties and thus Parliament under his control.

With the passing of Joel Barkan, Kenya lost a true friend. And I lost a personal friend.

But Kenya has to march on toward a true democracy.

That is what Joel longed for throughout a half-century of his association with the country he loved.

Mr Odinga is a former prime minister