Kenyans are among the most highly committed to democratic principles and institutions of respondents recently surveyed in 15 African countries. According to the Afrobarometer, a governance survey conducted in sub-Saharan African countries, Kenyans give high ratings to the quality of their own democracy as well.

Eighty percent agree that democracy is the only acceptable system of government, while nearly 90 percent hold that elections are the best way to select a government. Three-quarters or more agree that the president has to obey the constitution and term limits and that the parliament has a critical role in making the nation’s laws, according to the survey, whose principal author and co-national investigator was Tom Wolf (Kenya 69-70).

Kenyans rate their own country’s democratic achievements at higher levels than any respondents surveyed. Three-quarters see their country as a full democracy or as a democracy but with minor problems, compared to a 15-country mean of 55 percent. Nearly 80 percent are either fairly or very satisfied with the way democracy works in their country, again the highest rating within the Afrobarometer.

The survey, which was conducted in August and September 2003, just months after President Mwai Kibaki took office, reveals high approval for the new government. However, the post-election euphoria probably inflated judgments at the time of the survey. On the NARC/government reform agenda, 81 percent agree that constitutional reform is still necessary, while 82 percent support investigations into the possible crimes of past governments.

Another major finding was Kenyans’ strong commitment to their national identity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Kenyans do not identify primarily with their ethnic group, nor does ethnic identity appear to be a significant source of grievance. When asked how they identify themselves other than being Kenyan, a plurality (39 percent) cited their occupation, well above the survey mean of 25 percent, while 28 percent refused to identify themselves as anything but Kenyan. Seventy percent would choose their Kenyan identity if faced with a choice between a national identity and their selected identity group.

Attitudes toward economic reform are more ambivalent, with Kenyans nearly evenly divided on a market economy: 43 percent favor the market, while 48 percent opt for government control. Over half prefer free schooling rather than user fees, even if quality is adversely affected. A larger majority (63 percent) prefers government rather than private control of agricultural marketing.

The Afrobarometer conducted 2,400 interviews in more than 50 of the country's 71 districts.  Selected at random (based on government demographic data), respondents—interviewed at home—represent an accurate cross-section of the population. Author Tom Wolf, whose own doctoral dissertation was on Taita/Coast politics, 1960–80, and who has resided in Kenya since 1986, worked with a local consultancy firm, the Centre for Independent Research.

While most of the questions are standardized and thus asked across all 15 countries, each survey allows several questions specific to the country. For Kenya, therefore, it was possible to probe respondents with regard to current issues and to compare conditions and attitudes of Kenya's pastoralist population with those of the rest of the country. On many questions, for example, respondents from the northern and northeastern pastoral zones, as well as Muslim respondents, give lower ratings to the government and the economy.

A team of some 60 Kenyans, mostly graduate students or recent university graduates, carried out the fieldwork. In addition to English and Swahili, the questionnaire was translated into nine local languages, giving nearly all respondents a choice of language for the interview.

The survey findings are a tool for understanding the social, political and economic atmosphere in Kenya, and the implications for democratic consolidation and governance. Round 1 surveys were conducted in 12 countries (Kenya was not included) between 1999 and 2001. With this first survey in Kenya, the country joins Round 2 of the Afrobarometer with surveys in 15 countries.i  Thus, these results also provide a contrast with other countries undergoing democratization and economic reform and a baseline-comparison for possible future surveys.

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded the Kenya survey. The next survey could be undertaken as early as 2005 if funding is secured. During presentations in Nairobi earlier this year, donor and diplomatic representatives and Kenyans strongly supported a second such exercise.

As public opinion polling begins to gain a foothold in the local media, and at least among the more urbanized, educated Kenyans, surveys may contribute to more issue-based debates. Such surveys may help to make the Sauti ya Wananchi (Voice of the People) more audible.

The Afrobarometer instrument was developed and administered by a consortium comprising: the Centre for Governance and Development in Accra, Ghana; the Institute for Democracy of South Africa at the University of Cape Town, South Africa; and the Department of Political Science of Michigan State University in East Lansing.

For further information on the Kenya Report and other country surveys and thematic analyses, see www.afrobarometer.org. Author Tom Wolf encourages comments/criticisms and suggestions for questions for the next survey.