Kithinji KINYUA

This study explores the intricate dynamics and factors that influence gubernatorial impeachment in Kenya, highlighting the checks and balances within the devolved government system established by the 2010 constitution. The Kenyan experience of impeachment indicates that proceedings are often marred by political uncertainty, controversy, and procedural breaches, necessitating intervention by courts of law to correct abuses of power. This study examines how neo-patrimonial practices, gender dynamics, and party politics shape the impeachment process, reflecting broader struggles for power and resources. By looking at successful impeachment cases in Kiambu and Nairobi counties and comparing them with unsuccessful ones in Embu and Kirinyaga counties, this study highlights the crucial role of political affiliations and allegiances. Meru County was also scrutinised to determine whether the 2022 government would approach gubernatorial impeachment differently, considering gendered politics. This study evaluates constitutional provisions on impeachment; the roles of key actors such as the Senate, county assemblies, and judiciary; and the influence of political alliances and rivalries. Using qualitative data from case studies, stakeholder interviews, and media reports, this study provides a detailed understanding of impeachment as a political tool and its effects on devolved governance in Kenya. This study offers insight into balancing accountability and the potential misuse of impeachment for political purposes.

The success of mobile phone technology has transformed communication and financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa and permeated politics, giving rise to “digital democracy” (Nyabola, 2019). As a tool for mobilisation with regard to vote-seeking, mobile technology is reinventing mechanisms through which, especially, rural populations fall victim to manipulation by the political elite. Existing scholarly explanations of the emerging trends have often assumed top-down perspectives that praise or reprimand the political elite as manipulative “philanthropists”, consequently obscuring the various mechanisms applied by the grassroots communities as agents of political and social change. As the easy accessibility of the Internet has been redefining the nature of state-citizen relationships, the role of ordinary citizens in the political mobilisation of resources, votes, and political discourse has been amplified. This paper gives an in-depth analysis of contemporary grassroots populations in rural Africa and their assertion of their presence in political participation, focusing on the opportunities they create from digital platforms to capitalise on inclusion in political discourse and the development agenda. Using ethnographic data, this paper highlights digital platforms as crucial in reviving the old forms of interpersonal networks of resource mobilisation among friends and families and claims that the youth use digital platforms (networks of globalisation) to contest and claim political rights (resources) from elected officials in both local and national governments.