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Naivasha Virtual Fieldcourse

National constitution

The New Kenyan Consitution was finally endorsed in 2010 after a long and troubled political history that followed the achievement of the country's independence in 1963. Soon after the first independent government took power, internal divisions caused by struggles between opposed factions led by the dominant tribes, induced the second President of Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi, to restrict democratic representation to a single party. Only in 1992 Kenya returned to multi-party politics and to the long process of constitutional reform that started at the turn of the century, was interrupted by the violent conflicts that erupted following the 2007 Presidential elections, and then finally achieved its objective of giving the country a much warranted consitutional reform.

The New Constitution is inspired by decentralisation and by a greater separation between legislative and executive powers in the attempt to reduce corruption and mismanagement within the state administration. With the New Consitution, the rights of minorities and women became finally recognised and protected by specific provisions.