DEVOLUTION OF POWER AND THE NEW STRATEGIC

STATE:
A CASE OF ENGAGED GOVERNANCE AND DELIBERATIVE
DEMOCRACY IN A MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNMENT
IN KENYA
By Kinyua T. Kihara
This paper seeks to propose a model structure of governance for Kenya based on
devolution of power from the highly centralist government to a system of co-
responsibility between the centre and the periphery through an engagement process of
decision making, as an ‘Exit Option’ in the current governance and constitutional cross
roads the country is facing.

At the core of this proposed model of governance is the strategic state that is
characterized by devolution of authority to bureaucrats and citizens in an interactive
forum under the tutelage of a more independent efficient, informed and involved
legislature.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

 Contents
A MODEL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE FOR A MULTI-LEVEL
GOVERNMENT IN KENYA.......................................................................... .........4
Executive Authority................................................................................ ..................5
Legislation and Representation....................................................................... ........10
Bureaucracies..................................................................................................... .....18
Devolved Government Structure............................................................................22
The Strategic State.................................................................................... ..............26
Auditor General.............................................................................. ........................30
Comptroller General........................................................................ .......................30
Ombudsman................................................................................................. ...........31

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Kinyua T. Kihara

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A MODEL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE FOR A MULTI-
LEVEL GOVERNMENT IN KENYA
Proper devolution in an ideal multi-level structure of government should be characterised by
an engagement process that includes large-scale policy task involvement of groups,
individuals and civil societies with power being redistributed through shared decision making
responsibilities exemplified by task interdependence between various levels of government
from the national to the grassroots level.
Such a system of government reflects the embodiment of the principles of good governance
that includes broad participation and representation in decision making; responsive, efficient
and effective result-oriented institutions and processes; accountability and transparency at all
levels of government institutions and agencies; a shared sense of mutuality and understanding
of the context and circumstances prevailing in the geopolitical setting; fairness and equity of
opportunity for all persons.
This can only be realised with the adoption of an institutional approach to governance that
entrusts political power and the role of governance in credible, reliable and legitimate
institutions of government. In Kenya, credibility and reliability is only possible with the
restricting of the politicians role in governance and in controlling the government machinery.
However, such reduction of the politicians’ control of government may generate a risk of
legitimacy of the institutions as people mandated. As such, a balance must be struck between
the quests for professionalism and the legitimacy of the institutions from whence they draw
the power, authority and mandate to serve the people.
A new constitutional dispensation will thus require reconciling the need for professionalism
in governance by giving technocrats and public servants a greater role in governance in order
to tap into their tacit knowledge on state issues as well as ensuring the legitimacy of the
actions of the institutions as espousal of the peoples’ will. The other should complement this
with the truncating and diffraction of executive power amongst various state organs with each
organ acting as a check on the use of power. Under this new proposed system, governance is
subsumed under the following; executive authority, legislation and representation,
bureaucracies, devolved government structure and strategic state.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Executive Authority
The executive arm of the government exercises this power where it is shared between the
President and the Cabinet under the direction of the Prime Minister.
The presidential executive comprises of the Department of Defence, the National Security
Command Central, the Executive Office of the President and the Office of Public
Administration and Management.
These executive agencies are directly answerable to the President. As such, the President has
the ultimate say on policies advocated by these agencies.
The Prime Minister exercises executive authority and power through his Cabinet-government
where all executive decisions on matters of government policy are made collectively rather
than unilaterally.
On the other hand, the Central Public Bureau, the highest organ in the public service,
exercises unfettered discretion in exercising its veto power derived from its residual interest
in matters of public service delivery as well as making and ensuring compliance of public
officials with the public service code.

President
He is the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He is empowered to
assent to bills passed by Parliament into law. He also holds the prerogative of mercy.
The President is indirectly elected by the Legislature where the Upper House delivers the
determinant vote i.e. acts as an electoral college and the Lower House delivers the popular
vote.
The Lower House vote is such that each member has one vote to which he is entitled and thus
the Lower House delivers a single vote per member.
In the Upper House however, the bloc voting system is followed where each delegation
representing a particular interest group, irrespective of its size delivers one vote. In this case
to win the Presidency the winner has to garner the highest number of delegations in the house
rather than delegates per delegation from each interest group. Such that, one may have more
delegates by for instance winning the vote of a few large delegations but lose the Presidency
to the one with fewer delegates but commands the confidence of more delegations in the
house.
Once elected, the President serves for one term of seven years. Once his seven-year term
elapses, the incumbent President is not eligible to contest the Presidency again.
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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

He exercises executive authority over various executive Government agencies including the
Department of Defence, the National Security Command Central, the Executive Office of the
President and the Office of Public Administration and Management as well as government
agencies that may be called to serve under the presidential executive prerogative on key
national issues under the direction of the Executive Office of the President.
The President is obligated to summon both Houses of Parliament and address them in a joint
session setting out the operations of his office at the beginning of every year for the year just
ended.

Department of Defence
It is an executive agency under the presidential executive prerogative responsible for the
management and direction of the national military and defence personnel and installations as
well as the determination and implementation of defence policies.
It works closely with the Commissariat, headed by the Minister for Defence, to reconcile and
harmonize the national defence policies of the Department of Defence with the budgetary
allocations and the general funding levels for defence programmes by the Commissariat.
It is headed by the Chief of General Staff who is directly accountable to the President as the
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces including all national defence forces and all
disciplined forces in the country that may be called to actual national service.

National Security Command Central

It is an executive agency falling under the presidential executive prerogative. It has the
ultimate authority as the executive oversight body over the state intelligence services and all
other special, tactical, elite, covert forces operating within and without Kenya in the service
of Kenya.
It is also a policy recommending body to the cabinet-government on matters of national
security, which recommendations being based on security status reports received, from
intelligence operatives and other covert corps.
It comprises the President, the Deputy President, key national security agencies’ chiefs,
defence chiefs as well as security experts and other presidential advisors.

Executive Office of the President

It is an executive agency directly under the presidential executive prerogative whose
responsibilities include policy formulation, direction, management, implementation and

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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

review over key national issues that require long-term and sustained special attention and
resources on a grand scale including for instance HIV/AIDS scourge, terrorism and Vision
2030.
In order to discharge its mandate it is empowered to exercise overall direction over any of the
government agencies whose operations includes dealing with or tackling any of the key
national issues.
The agency is made up of a team of support staff working under the direction of the
Executive Chief of Staff with the responsibility of directing and co-ordinating as well as
overseeing the operations of government agencies called in for service under the presidential
executive prerogative on such key national issues.

Office of Public Administration and Management

It is also an executive agency under the direction of the President as well through the
presidential executive prerogative, responsible for overseeing the running of the public
service.
Its mandate includes policy review, direction and recommendation to the Central Public
Bureau in respect of public service operations and personnel management. In essence it
works very closely with the Central Public Bureau in discharging its duties.
Its decisions as well as recommendations are very persuasive and influential on the actions
and operations of the Central Public Bureau as a national public service planning manual and
policy guide.
It is made up of the President, the Deputy President, Secretary to the Cabinet, the Attorney
General, public service heads and public workers representatives.
The Secretary to the Cabinet acts in the capacity of an agent of the cabinet, where he also sits,
with the responsibility of reporting to the cabinet on the changes and developments in public
service policies as well as stating the position of the Cabinet-government position as to issues
arising in the delivery of public service and also making contributions during consultative
meetings under the presidential executive prerogative on behalf of the Cabinet-government.
The Attorney General on the other hand acts in his capacity as the chief legal advisor to the
government.

Prime Minister
He is the head of Government and a popularly elected member of the Lower House of
Parliament and is also the leader of the party with the majority seats in the Lower House.
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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

He is the party leader who leads his party through the General Elections where once the party
members contesting for parliamentary seats win in their constituencies forming a majority in
the Lower House, he automatically ascends to the Office of the Premiership.
The Prime Minister then serves for one term of four years after which he is eligible for
Premiership for only one other four-year term. As such, the Prime Minister is limited to
serving as premier for a maximum of two terms of four year each.
The Prime Minister is the Head of Government empowered to constitute, appoint and head
the Cabinet, which is responsible for determining government policy as well as running the
state machinery.
In running the government, the Prime Minister as well as the cabinet is held responsible and
put to task by the Lower House i.e. the opposition bench through parliamentary questions.
The Prime Minister is obliged to hold regular conferences with the Head of State to brief him
and discuss government action and progress.

The Cabinet-government
The cabinet comprising, the Prime Minister, deputy prime minister, secretary to the cabinet,
Attorney General and ministers in the government; is the highest policy making organ of
government.
It acts as a unit in policymaking, such that the actions of a cabinet member are binding on the
entire cabinet through the doctrine of collective responsibility i.e. Cabinet-government.
As such, cabinet members cannot act unilaterally in determining policy issues in their
respective dockets including the Prime Minister
Ministers in the cabinet act as figureheads of their respective ministries where they exercise
authority limited to the general direction of the ministry.
In discharging their ministerial duties they are collectively as well as individually accountable
to the Lower House.
They are empowered as well as responsible for overseeing the effecting of and compliance
with any laws specifically enacted to be applied and upheld by their respective ministries.
They may also make ministerial directives having force of law in responding to public needs
or contingencies falling under the jurisdiction of their respective ministries.
However, such directives should not have the effect of infringing on the public service
directives of the Central Public Bureau that guide the practices and workings of the ministry

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such that a ministerial directive should be in response to a properly defined contingency well
within the mandate and jurisdiction of the ministry in question.
Once appointed, cabinet ministers can only be removed by a joint house resolution or their
seats falling vacant or as a result of the dissolution of the Lower House.

Central Public Bureau

It is the highest organ of the public service entrusted with the running and overseeing of the
public service. It is also the appointing authority of all senior public officials in the
government ministries including the deputy ministers, permanent secretaries and
departmental directors.
Its responsibilities include public service planning and policy formulation and management,
standard setting, monitoring of public service delivery, management of public service
personnel as well as regulation of public service activities.
In regard to policy issues in the public service, the Central Public Bureau may undertake
policy reviews of the public service activities and thereby institute and oversee reforms
therein for conformity with the global best practices in public service delivery.
It sets standards expected and crucial for quality in service delivery in the public sector and
maintains them by ensuring proper personnel training and accreditation as well as strict
compliance with the set standards across the board, from the national to the local level
bureaucracies.
It may invoke disciplinary measures on errant public officials at the national level and also sit
to hear appeals and petitions of unfair or uncalled for treatment and/or disciplinary measures
and punishment of public workers in local level bureaucracies.
The Central Public Bureau is also responsible for approving, revising, regulating and funding
of public sector programmes and departmental administrative operations of government
ministries.
The Central Public Bureau is headed by commissioners from a shortlist of candidates
compiled by parliamentary committee and approved by the Lower House of Parliament.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Legislation and Representation

Bicameral Parliament
Parliament plays a big role in governance as a representative body of the people and thus can
be viewed as embodying public policy and public will. As such, parliament should embrace
broad participation and representation as well as inclusion of all stakeholders for it to have a
legitimate mandate and authority in expressing the will of the people. It should also be
informed and directly involved in governance so as to effectively monitor the other arms of
government on behalf of the public.
In order to do this effectively, parliament must be impartial and rise above vested partisan
interests. This calls for it to have in-built safeguards to check its excesses as well as some
level of perpetuity and continuity.
Achievement of the above is most practical in a bicameral set up i.e. parliament composed of
two houses mainly the Upper House and the lower houses. The bicameral parliament will
reflect broad representation and participation by encompassing both group representation and
popular representation.
As such, the Upper House, composed of representatives of special interest groups offers
group representation while the lower house, composed of popularly elected members from
constituencies is for popular representation. Whilst the lower house is dissolved in order for
the members to go back for a fresh mandate from the electorate, the Upper House remains in
session and thus is perpetual, creating a sense of continuity for parliament business.
Parliament may exercise authority as people’s vigilance through its direct involvement in
governance and policy making through its committees. Such that, the involvement of the joint
house committees directly in policy making will bring about informed deliberations on
government policy matters especially due to professional input from the members of the
Upper House whose membership is drawn from special interest groups which include
professional bodies as well as other stakeholders experienced in the matters at hand.
This kind of engagement is bound to ensure the appropriateness, applicability and suitability
of the policy in respect to its consistency with public policy.
The public accounts committee empowered to scrutinise the national budgetary proposals
from the finance ministry, making recommendations after thorough evaluation makes for
responsible handling of public funds.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Group Representation
This is envisaged in the Upper House of Parliament which is made up of representatives from
special interest groups including professional bodies, religious groups, non-government
organisations among other organisations and associations of persons sharing a common
interest or a shared peculiarity that is not repulsive or repugnant to public moral and justice.
The allocation of seats in the Upper House is determined proportionately to the direct
membership base of each group represented in the chambers.
The membership base of each group determines its representative capacity thus the larger the
organisation or group in terms of its membership base the larger its delegation in the Upper
House.
However, their shall be an Upper House limit as well as a lower limit on the number of
delegates per interest group depending on the total number of delegations to sit in the
chambers as against the number of available seats in the chambers.
The representative capacity of the Upper House is dependent on the all-inclusive broad and
diverse array of interests affecting a majority of or the entire national population across the
nation being effectively represented in the House.
On the other hand, there shall be reserved special seats for umbrella bodies i.e. organisations
without direct membership or whose membership is made up of other organisations.
The Upper House shall have a steering committee made up of delegates representing
umbrella organisations as well as super delegates drawn from common interest groups
delegations in the House that are not allied or represented by any umbrella organisation.
The steering committee is responsible for setting the agenda for the House at any particular
sitting. In addition to conducting House business it is empowered to determine the
membership of House committees and of House members in joint House committees.
The Upper House has no legislative authority however, it can exercise veto power of
suspension of a bill passed in the Lower House by passing a resolution to that effect.
Conversely, the House can alternatively pass a resolution supporting the passing of the bill in
which case the President will have to assent to it.
In passing any resolution or taking a vote, each delegation in the House wields a single vote
and thus votes en bloc.
In this case, the side that carries the day is the one voted for by a majority of the delegates
through a combination of delegations yielding a majority of the delegates.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

It is the popular vote rather than the proportional vote that plays the role of determining the
outcome of a resolution in the Upper House.
However, in respect to the election of the President, the reverse is true where the winner of
the Presidency is determined by a proportional rather than by a popular vote.
In determining the Presidency it is the number of delegations rather than the number of
delegates yielded by the various delegations in the House that sets apart the winner from the
loser.
The Upper House remains perpetual even upon the dissolution of the Lower House since the
respective organisations and group represented determine the tenure of service for the
delegates in the Upper House.
The groups so represented in the Upper House have the responsibility of determining the
tenure i.e. the period constituting a single term and the number of terms their respective
representatives can serve as delegates in the Upper House. However, once a delegate is
mandated accordingly, having been sworn in as a delegate and begins to serve his term, he
cannot be removed or dismissed from that position unilaterally.
Members in the Upper House are mandated to sit and take part in House committee
deliberations including the Departmental Joint House Select Committees where though
primarily representing the interests of their principal organisations in their individual
capacities, they also act as and are held out as members of the Upper House collectively.
The Upper House also has the mandate of forming its own ad-hoc House working committees
to look into various issues of public concern and give advisory opinions through the
publishing of working papers on subjects of inquiry.
Such papers may be used persuasively in determining the passing of a bill(s) touching on the
subject of the working paper in the Upper House.
They may also be used to guide in the drafting of a bill for instance, a bill originating from a
joint house select committee.

Popular Representation
This is envisaged in the Lower House of Parliament composed of popularly elected
representatives of constituencies.
Each member is elected by constituents on a particular political party ticket to represent the
constituency in the Lower House. Each constituency has one representative member of the
Lower House of Parliament i.e. the person who garnered the majority votes cast by his

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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

constituents during the General Elections where each constituent, registered as a voter was
entitled to and thus cast a single vote to determine their preferred candidate to represent them
from a list of other parliamentary contestants contesting the parliamentary seat in that
constituency.
The Lower House of Parliament may essentially be viewed as the stage for popularity
contests between various political parties as well as a political bargaining arena for the
political class, which may often result in political horse-trading thus alignments and
realignments of parties and their members in the House.
Such political alignments then come down to two major alignments that result in the two
opposing sides that sit on either side of the House Speaker i.e. the Government side and
opposition.
The party with the majority seats in the House or a coalition of political parties commanding
a majority of the seats in the Lower House forms the Government and the majority party
leader becomes the Prime Minister.
He then moves on to constitute his cabinet by picking and appointing members of parliament
from his party or coalition of parties to serve as ministers in the cabinet thus forming the
Cabinet-government.
The Prime Minister and the cabinet members occupy the Government front bench in the
Lower House while the rest of the Government-allied parliamentarians occupy the
backbenches on the Government side of the floor.
On the other hand, the leader of the minority party or coalition of parties in the House
becomes the Leader of Official Opposition.
He moves on to form his own shadow cabinet from amongst members of the opposition in the
House. The Leader of Official Opposition and his shadow cabinet sit on the opposition front
bench as a government in waiting.
The Lower House is mandated to play the role of the peoples’ watchdog on the Cabinet-
government where the opposition keeps the Government side on its feet by raising
parliamentary questions during parliament sessions. Such questions are directed at the
relevant cabinet members depending on the subject of the query and the Prime Minister as
well.
The Lower House is entrusted with the legislative authority whereby bills may originate, be
debated and if passed in the Lower House proceed to the Upper House for scrutiny before
being assented to by the President to become law.
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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

A bill may be tabled in the Lower House as a Government bill, private bill or be forwarded
by a parliamentary committee especially for instance the Departmental Joint House Select
Committees.
Once laid before the house, the bill goes through the first reading followed by a vote from the
House members which vote if favourable sees the bill proceed to the second stage which is
the second reading followed by another vote after which following a favourable outcome the
bill is assigned a standing committee for a thorough scrutiny before the final reading where a
favourable vote is the last hurdle for the passing of the bill in the Lower House.
During the voting process to determine the passing of a bill in the Lower House, each
Member of Parliament is entitled to a single vote which he may cast in favour of the bill in
which case the vote is an aye or against the bill in which case the vote is a nay.
Where the votes cast in favour of the bill (ayes) outweigh those cast against the bill (nays) the
bill is passed, however, when the reverse occurs the bill is defeated.
The Speaker of the Lower House acts as the figure head of the Parliament. He is the official
representative of Parliament, empowered to conduct business as well as speak on its behalf
during for instance inter-parliamentary functions locally and abroad.
He is also responsible for moderating and regulating debates in the Lower House.
The Lower House may also establish ad-hoc house committees as well as standing
committees whose membership is determined on party strength of numbers in the House.
The Members of Parliament also sit and participate in joint house committees.
The Lower House unlike the Upper House, is however, not perpetual.
The Lower House has a life-span of four years after which it is dissolved so that the Members
of Parliament can go back to the constituencies they were representing to seek another fresh
mandate from their constituents to represent them for another four-year term in the next
Parliament which is constituted on conclusion of the General Elections and the subsequent
declaration of the election winners.

Departmental Joint House Select Committees

They are made up of members from both Houses of Parliament where the membership from
the Upper House is determined by the Steering Committee and the membership from the
Lower House is based on party strength in the House i.e. the number of seats a particular
party commands in the House.

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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

It is a parliamentary oversight body responsible for supervising and overseeing matters of
policy in the respective government ministry assigned to that particular committee.
They scrutinise government policies on particular public concerns including for instance
health, education and so on.
In this regard, their duties include departmental policy review and revision and thus reserve
the ultimate say in the determination of departmental policies.
These committees are deliberative forums where following a conflict between cabinet
policies in regard to the ministry or a ministerial directive with the public service policy
directives such departmental policy issues are referred to the relevant Departmental Joint
House Select Committee where they are deliberated after which the committee makes a
ruling on the issue.
In making such a ruling the concerned committee inquires into the appropriateness and the
effects of a particular policy as guided by public policy and preferences and in so doing may
make adjustments and alterations to the policy in question as part of its policy revision
mandate or even ultimately prepare a bill and lay it before the House for enactment, to stand
in for the inadequacies plaguing that particular policy directive.
Such a ruling is binding on the stakeholders and parties to the dispute such that the
declaration by the committee or the terms set out thereof determine the departmental policy to
be followed in that particular ministry.
They are also responsible for monitoring the implementation and the ultimate application of
bills passed to become law that directly impact on the operations of the ministries assigned to
them.
In this regard the committees are empowered to summon the Minister concerned to brief the
panel on the progress and compliance rate of his ministry with a particular newly enacted law
directly impacting on the operations of the ministry.
They also sponsor bills, which they table before the Lower House to be debated into law.
Where a Departmental Joint House Select Committee is the originator of a bill which it
brings to the House, it is incumbent upon the concerned committee to do a follow up on the
bill through its debate and subsequent passing in the Lower House as well as in the Upper
House finally to its enactment as law on receiving Presidential assent.
In doing this, these committees may indulge their ranks to canvass for the support of the bill
from among members drawn from both Houses of Parliament.

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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

This may also entail detailing to the House members the effects, suitability and applicability
of the proposed bill for its enactment.
It is also the duty of the concerned committee to hold civic education seminars for the public
to educate the people as well as other stakeholders on the application of the newly enacted
law.

Standing Committees
These are broad-spectrum parliamentary committees that comprise Members of Parliament in
the Lower House of Parliament.
They are large committees whose membership, though determined on the basis of party
strength of the numbers of House members within its ranks, the committee membership
criteria is rather categorical and particular on inclusiveness of all political parties and
interests represented in the House to be included and involved in its composition and affairs.
The mandate of these committees includes in-depth scrutiny of bills at the committee stage of
the legislative process in the Lower House.
At this stage, a bill which has passed the initial legislative stages i.e. the first and second
readings, is taken up by a Standing Committee which sits and deliberates, analysing the bill;
its implications and applications for a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the
intended role of the bill once it is passed into law.
The committees may then make recommendations for adjustments and amendments on the
bill or simply have it proceed to the final stage in its original form.
These committees work very closely with the originators of the bill in question.

Public Accounts Committee

This is the parliamentary watchdog on matters pertaining public finances. Its membership
comprises of Members of Parliament from Lower House.
It works closely with the Office of the Comptroller General as well as that of the Auditor
General in exercising parliamentary oversight over public finance resources.
Its mandate includes conducting pre-budget scrutiny and analysis on the proposed budgetary
allocations from the Ministry of Finance as well as monitoring of the actual application of
public funds in the public sector.
This committee is also vested with the authority to formulate and recommend public-
spending policy to guide the House in evaluating the budget for endorsement.

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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

To discharge its mandate effectively, the committee is empowered to require the Comptroller
General to submit status reports on the progress and process of disbursements of public funds
to the allocated portfolios as well as the resultant output stemming from the application of the
funds.
The quality, priority and level of the output or projected output and the cost-benefits arising
thereof from the application of budgetary allocations inform the public-spending policy to be
recommended to the House by the Public Accounts Committee that will determine the
chances for a safe passage of the budget in the House.
The Public Accounts Committee in formulating and recommending the public-spending
policy to be followed is guided by the reports and recommendations of the Comptroller
General as well as that of the Auditor General, not excluding however, the committee’s
capacity to co-opt the services of accredited experts in the relevant fields.
The Public Accounts Committee also has the responsibility of receiving the performance and
financial audit reports from the Auditor General on the general performance, financial
position and the application of public funds allocated to public sector bodies before
forwarding the same to the floor of the Lower House for debate and deliberation on the
contents and recommendations set out therein.

Public Administration Committee

This is a parliamentary watchdog committee on public sector bodies and organisations
throughout the entire public sector from the public service at the national level to the local
level bureaucracies including the quasi government organisations (QUANGOS).
Its mandate includes oversight, inquiry and review of the entire public sector programmes
and policy outcomes.
In this regard the committee is empowered to make inquiries into the operations and dealings
of various public bodies confining itself however, to the policy outcomes in administrative
and actual service delivery matters in its endeavours.
Its jurisdiction extends to include even the executive agencies under the presidential
executive prerogative as well as all government ministries and agencies. The findings of its
inquiries determine the level and availability of funding, any particular public sector
programme or government operation and undertakings will be entitled to.
The Public Administration Committee therefore also aids in shaping the public-spending
policies and as such works closely in conjunction with the Public Accounts Committee.

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It is this committee that receives and handles the reports from the Ombudsman on public
sector issues.
It is also the committee that is mandated to shortlist proposed persons for the position of
commissioners of the Central Public Bureau, which list is then presented in the Lower House
for approval after which the shortlist is presented to the President who proceeds to select the
number of commissioners required to fill the vacancies available.
The committee may summon commissioners of the Central Public Bureau as well as other
ministry and public officials and officeholders to appear before it during inquiries.

Parliament Business
The House Business Committee of the Lower House comprising Members of Parliament in
the Lower House and the Steering Committee of the Upper House of parliament that includes
delegates from umbrella bodies and super delegates selected from among House delegates
from various common interest groups that lack representation and membership in umbrella
bodies, are the two committees responsible for setting and preparing parliamentary agenda in
the respective House chambers they belong to.
As such, they determine the programme for sessions in Parliament and are also entrusted with
the responsibility of setting out the parliamentary calendar as to include periods of recess and
the time frame assigned for such recess before the resumption of duty as well as the expected
date of dissolution of the Lower House in the case of the House Business Committee.
The Steering Committee is also empowered to determine the membership of ad-hoc working
committees of the Upper House. In addition to this, it is vested with the authority to
determine the membership of the Upper House delegates in the composition of the joint
house committees.
However, in exercising such authority the Steering Committee shall be guided and heed to the
interests and expertise of the delegations and delegates.

Bureaucracies
It comprises all public bodies consisting of non-elected public officials, from the national to
the local level i.e. the public sector including the Central Public Bureau, government
ministries, government agencies and other public officeholders at the central state level as
well as the quasi-government organisations at the regional sub-national level.

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The bureaucracies are responsible for public service delivery including for instance putting
up and maintaining infrastructure and public utilities as well as implementing government
policies for the benefit of the citizens of the nation.
In respect to implementation of government policies, these bureaucracies may be categorised
according to their pecking order as such:
The government ministries form what may be referred to as the vanguard of the state in
public service delivery and policy initiatives while the government agencies and the sub-
national quasi-government organisations form the rearguard in the state policy cycle.
In this regard, the government ministries are the primary policy vehicles of the state, with the
sub-national quasi-government organisations being secondary government policy vehicles
and the government agencies coming in as alternative government policy vehicles in the
realm of state policy and planning.
However, though the government ministries revel in their splendid role and primacy as key
state machinery in public service delivery, the rearguard comprising the government agencies
at the national level and the quasi-government organisations at the sub-national level form the
infantry and are primarily responsible for the implementation and the resultant realisation of
government policy objectives and actual public service delivery on the ground.
In a nutshell, these bureaucracies are the cogwheels that run the government machinery for
which they use the public funds in the form of state revenue to oil the running process of
government.

Central Public Bureau

The Central Public Bureau is the highest public service organ concerned with the formulation
of public service policy and programmes in all the government ministries as well as
monitoring and regulation of public sector activities by government agencies and quasi-
government organisations at the sub-national level.
It also holds a residual interest in all matters of public service delivery and as such is vested
with the power to veto any measures taken in respect to public service delivery mechanisms
which it deems unfit.
In exercising overall oversight over public service delivery, the Central Public Bureau is
mandated to formulate, approve, regulate, revise and fund public sector programmes at the
national level through the administrative channel of government ministries or at the sub-

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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

national level through the quasi-government organisations in which it holds a residual interest
as well.
It is also mandated with the hiring of ministry officials including senior government officers
like the deputy minister, permanent secretary and the departmental directors in the ministries.
It sets the standards and discipline that guide the ministries in their operations where the
deputy minister and the permanent secretary as well are guided by the public service
directives of the Central Public Bureau in discharging their duties.
Its residual interest in the public service is such that, it can veto policy directives from the
cabinet or the cabinet minister concerned which veto can only be overruled by a ruling of the
respective Departmental Joint House Select Committee, after exhaustive deliberations on the
policy matter.
As such, the deputy minister being the head of policy issues at the ministry must ensure
policies from the cabinet and ministerial directives are consistent with the guiding principles
and practices of the Central Public Bureau before assimilating the same in the ministry.
The Central Public Bureau is headed by commissioners from a shortlist of candidates
compiled by the Public Administration Committee and approved by the Lower House of
Parliament.

Government Ministries
They are divided along various public service segments for instance health, internal security,
defence among others i.e. they are rather departmentalised in nature. They are concerned with
policy issues in their respective segments. They are responsible for implementing central
government policies in the areas they cover. They also oversee and co-ordinate the activities
of other government agencies in their segment. They form the channels through which the
central government funds its operations.
The government ministry is the primary and most vital vessel for the implementation and the
eventual realisation of government objectives in public service delivery.
The respective cabinet minister who gives general direction in the running of the ministry and
also communicates the government policy in respect to that ministry heads the ministry.
The cabinet minister is empowered to make ministerial directives in respect to public
concerns specifically falling within the ambit of his ministry.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

He also oversees and supervises the implementation of necessary laws that have a direct
implication on his ministry which responsibility he is directly accountable to parliament as
well as government policies in his ministry.
The ministry being the cornerstone of public service delivery and the realisation of
government policy objectives, the cabinet minister is vested with the power to establish
various quasi-government organisations meant to aid in building capacities of the local
governments in public service delivery.
Such quasi-government organisations are however limited in their scope of operations to the
specific departmental objectives assigned by the respective ministry in a particular sub-
national region-specific scale of operations.
In doing this, the minister is guided by a General Act of Parliament establishing the
parameters of creation and operations of the quasi-government organisations as well as
determining the minister’s responsibility in creation and operations of such bodies.
The deputy minister, a public official appointed through the Central Public Bureau, oversees
policy issues in the ministry and is thus responsible for restating government policy from the
cabinet and aligning it with the practices and principles of the Central Public Bureau before
the eventual implementation of the policy by the ministry.
The Permanent Secretary is the administrative head in the ministry whose responsibility is
limited to the routine management and the day-to-day running of the ministry. He is a
bureaucrat appointed by the Central Public Bureau.
The director in the ministry is the co-ordinator and chief liaison officer of the ministry
responsible for co-ordinating ministry operations and liases with government agencies in a
bid to align their activities with the objectives of the ministry.

Government Agencies
They are autonomous specialised government institutions comprising for instance the
investigative and forensic agencies, national health referral facilities, scientific and research
facilities, regulatory bodies, state revenue authorities, National security and intelligence
facilities, institutions of higher learning and other highly-specialised task-mandated public
bodies and corporations.
They are part and parcel of the state bureaucracy at the national level. They are operationally
independent responsible for their own policy formulation and implementation in their field of
expertise and specialisation.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

They are however required to liaise with the departmental directors in the respective
government portfolios for co-ordination and alignment of their operations with the
government policies and public service objectives.
They constitute the alternative policy vehicle for the government as they are operationally
independent of the government and may only be put to task by parliament through the Public
Administration Committee on their policy outcomes.
Their scale of operations covers the entire nation where they are empowered to exercise
unfettered executive authority on all matters falling within their scope of operations
countrywide.
This includes a nationwide residual executive discretionary right on issues falling within their
area of specialisation throughout the nation for instance the Criminal Investigation
Department has jurisdiction over all cases involving forensic investigations.
Directors nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President after being vetted
by Parliament head these institutions.
The directors of the agencies act independently without undue influence from any persons or
authority and enjoy a security of tenure. However, they may be summoned by their respective
Departmental Joint House Select Committees to give information during investigative
inquiries by the committees.

Devolved Government Structure

A multi-level structure of government is the best and most practical means for devolving state
power and resources to the lowest and most basic level of the social order. For the proper
functioning and effectiveness of such a government each level of government must have
some considerable measure of autonomy in running the affairs of its jurisdiction. To
effectively utilise their autonomy, sub-national governments must build adequate capacities in
terms of resources and skills in running their territories.
In fully developed federal states the sub-national governments exercise exclusive control over
the affairs of their territorial jurisdictions, which is as a result of their ability to be self-reliant
and run their own programmes and projects independent of the central government. These
regional governments tend to have reliable revenue streams within their territories as well as
long tradition of self-governance thus their steadfastness.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

However in the case of Kenya where resource distribution is highly skewed with most
regions lacking financial as well as technical capacities to run a fully fledged sub-national
government, a pseudo-federalist approach to governance would be the most appropriate.
In this case there would be semi-autonomous regional meso-governments exercising
unfettered discretion over local level prioritisation and resource mobilisation with the central
government being a mere facilitator and enabler of the sub-national outfits i.e. the rise of the
strategic state.

Regional Governments
It is made up of constituency-level meso-governments in the form of Constituency
Development Committees and the metropolitan governments i.e. city councils and the
composite amalgamated local authorities. The constituency committees are mandated with
constituency-level prioritisation and resource mobilisation. They set the development agenda
at the grass roots level.

Constituency Development Committees

They are committees at the constituency level mandated with the setting of the development
agendas of the constituencies. Such development includes the setting up of various public
utilities and infrastructure as well as the staffing exercises of various public service personnel
at the constituency-level for instance the police under the direction and guidance of the
legislation-enabled; Ministry-established; Central Public Bureau-mandated and local
government-authorised respective Quasi-government organisation which is responsible for
capacity building of these meso-governments in public service delivery through technical
assistance and Central Public Bureau-sourced funding for such public sector programmes.
Essentially, the Constituency Development Committee sets and runs the constituency
development programme for which it exercises complete autonomy. However, their plans and
projects are subjected to set standards of the CPB whilst the funding of the projects is done
through the Local Committees in the Office of the Comptroller General.
Each constituency is allocated a fixed constituency-specific amount of money through the
constitution-entrenched Constituency Development Fund. All constituencies are entitled to
the CDF as well as the right to keep and utilise whatever proceeds they make from the
employment of the CDF funds while maintaining accounts of such endeavours with the local
committees of the Office of the Comptroller General, which are responsible for
procurements, and disbursement of public funds at the constituency level.
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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

As such, the Constituency Development Committee is only vested with micro-level economic
planning and prioritisation responsibilities where it unilaterally decides and determines the
specific application of the allocated Constituency Development Funds but does not handle the
funds and the actual application of the funds is entrusted to the local committee of that
constituency in the Office of the Comptroller General.
Once the projects are completed, the Constituency developments Committees are not
mandated to run and manage the public installations they put up.
The running and routine management and maintenance of all public facilities at the local
level are the responsibility of the local authorities in that area.
The members of the committees are nominated by a parliamentary candidate as part of his
campaign for the parliamentary seat. The election of the parliamentary candidate also serves
as an endorsement of his team, which then becomes the Constituency Development
Committee for that particular constituency. However, failure of the Constituency
Development Committee to deliver could lead to a recall parliamentary election.
Such a recall parliamentary by-election is possible with the collection of the necessary
number of signatures proportionate to the population of the constituency bearing a truly
representative constituency outlook compiled in an election petition which once delivered
and verified by the Speaker of the Lower House then obliges the Speaker to declare the
particular parliamentary seat vacant paving the way for a recall election.

Local Authorities
They include the city, municipal, county, and other urban councils and authorities.
They are responsible for all urban centres as well as outlying areas that lay adjacent to these
urban centres.
The local authorities are relatively autonomous administrative and planning bodies at the
local level.
They are also charged with law enforcement and provision of public and social services as
well as the running and managing of the public utilities in their territorial jurisdictions. In
addition to their day-to-day duties and responsibilities, the local authorities are also mandated
to manage all utilities and facilities set up by the development committees of the
constituencies. This is considering the implicit knowledge and the experience not overlooking
the technical capacities and expertise they possess in public utilities management.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

In managing such utilities the local authorities are not entitled to any grants or any direct
funding from the state however, they are empowered to collect revenues as well as user
charges accruing within their jurisdictions from individuals and institutions operating in those
areas.
They may also receive grants from other sources including through private financial
partnership programmes with other local authorities abroad as well as other organisations.
The local government are however, entitled to state funds through the Quasi-government
organisations operating in that particular territory of the local government.
The quasi-government organisations are specialised infra national departmental capacity-
building bodies which give technical assistance and government funding for sector-specific
programmes being instituted and run by the local government for instance education, health
and so on as well as the constituency-level constituency development initiatives of the
Constituency Development Committee, but with the authorisation of the local government in
that area.
The local authorities are autonomous entities exercising their discretion independently
without any undue influence.
The councillors are elected to serve for a term of four years before seeking a fresh mandate at
the general elections.
The mayoral election coincides with the parliamentary elections and the winner in the
election becomes the mayor. However, mayoral elections are only conducted from the
municipal council level to the city council i.e. in the metropolitan governments only.
The local authorities below the municipal council level, save for the composite local
authorities comprising two county councils and the enjoined urban authorities in the absence
of a proximate-situated municipal council, may only elect their councillors who following
their election are then supposed to organise and conduct aldermanic elections to elect
aldermen from among themselves to sit as members of the Executive Committee of the
municipal council to which such urban council may be enjoined as a cost-cutting measure in
respect to administrative and service delivery expenses.
The Executive Committee headed by the Mayor is the body vested with the executive
authority at the sub-national level as a metropolitan cabinet-government and thus mandated to
run the local government comprising the municipal council and the enjoined adjacent urban
authorities as well as the outlying areas forming the frontiers of the local government
collectively operating as a sub-national quasi-confederacy.
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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

The Executive Committee, once constituted, is then responsible for the appointment of local
administrators who are assigned to manage the affairs of the various enjoined urban
authorities and outlying frontiers under the supervision of the councillors from the assigned
areas.
Local authorities may only be enjoined to the municipal council or in the absence of such
municipal council two county councils and the nearby urban authorities may be merged to
form a composite local government equal in standing to a metropolitan government
comprising municipal quasi-confederacies or the city councils.
In the city councils the councillors may elect anyone to become an alderman without one
having to be a councillor as a prerequisite for election as an alderman.
However, only aldermen and the Mayor constitute the Executive Committee of the local
government. Once elected at the aldermanic election one remains an alderman and member of
the Executive Committee for the entire four-year term.
The inhabitants of the local government popularly elect mayors. In the case of the municipal
councils the people in the enjoined local authorities and the outlying frontier regions take part
in the election of the mayors as well.

The Strategic State

The state has in the past played housekeeping roles and offsetting functions, which having
been rather interventionist in nature, required minimal input from the citizenry.
These rather interventionist roles of the state brought about the bulky, ineffective and rather
intrusive big brother state, which has been aptly described as a rather arthritic octopus and an
inept leviathan.
Contemporary statecraft requires the state to go far beyond its mundane traditional
interventionist roles and become involved as a broker and partner in participatory planning
and policymaking.
This calls for an integrative and interactive regime, where the citizen has a recognized voice
on matters of substance and procedure in the public realm through the principle of
subsidiarity, which requires that power be devolved to the lowest local institutions closest to
the citizen and capable of handling public service tasks.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Assimilation and utilization of the concept of subsidiarity would see drastic reduction in the
vertical hierarchical power in governance thus increasing in a meaningful way the potential
for broad participation.
This would bring about a trend towards the demise of the big brother state with its rather
reductionist, exclusive and tokenistic approach to public service delivery borne by the hugely
centralized bureaucratic hierarchical line departments that are characterized by a highly top-
down decision making and administrative process that does not take into account the
appropriateness and effects of the public service programmes in respect to public policy,
priorities and preferences in a particular setting.
This thus leads to misalignment of the public service outputs with public needs resulting in
major distortions of expected and projected outcomes from the public service delivery
programmes and policies.
The new and lean strategic state is founded on the premise that the central state focuses on
the norms and the periphery on delivery. In which case the central state is responsible for the
norms, standards, general directions and values while the devolved unit takes the lead in the
process of ministering to the public and of delivering a service well adapted to its needs.
Such a governance framework requires dynamic policy process inter-linkages and co-
ordination of centre-periphery operations in order to avoid duplication of tasks and the
concomitant lack of a clear-cut sense of purpose leading to policy paralysis coupled with
public programme and financial management gridlocks and fragmentation.
New partnerships and skills involving strategic management through consultancy and
advisory recommendations and evaluations envisaged in the prescriptive role of the central
state-mandated regional and sectional special forums would alongside devolved units
properly enabled under the principle of subsidiarity promote communication and co-operation
through capacity building and provision of the necessary technical assistance help the local
government in mobilizing the local citizenry in dealing with the local public matters in ways
that suit them and the prevailing situation.
These new kinds of institutions requires the central state to restrict itself to providing a
problem setting, framing the context of the situation and the boundaries and scope of public
attention, while allowing the bureaucrats and the residents through these forums to deal with
the specific situations, making their own decisions based on their perception and appreciation
of the peculiarity of the situation.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Community Development Committee
It is a development constituency level committee that runs parallel to the Constituency
Development Committee. Its terms of reference are similar to those of the Constituency
Development Committee with the variation being in their approach to constituency
development.
Whilst the Constituency Development Committee acts autonomously in serving the
community, the Community Development Committee is responsible for implementing
region/constituency-specific government policies. It also acts as a feedback mechanism for
the government on the viability of government initiatives in the area. Unlike the Constituency
Development Committee, the Community Development Committee is fully dependent on
government allocations which sums are dependent on the policies and priorities of the central
government.
They serve as alternative vehicles for the government to make and execute its policies
according to the priority and need basis of each region and the peculiarity of the
circumstances of each region as perceived and articulated at the grass roots level by the
residents of that area.
Though the government determines the composition of these committees, these committees
must be made up of residents residing in the area. Such residents may be eminent persons in
the area especially in opposition strongholds if such committees are to be used as a tool for
campaigning and endearing the government to the local people by positioning themselves as
constituency development committees in waiting.
However, like the constituency development committees, they are only entrusted with
planning responsibilities only limited to the constituency level. As such they access funds
allocated to them through the local committees, which are vested with the responsibility of
disbursing allocated public funds at the constituency level.
Community Development Committees are not specialized and their operations cover the
entire sphere of public service delivery and public welfare at the constituency level.
As such depending on the circumstances they may be used to bolster the Constituency
Development Committees in their endeavours for instance in places where the government
won the parliamentary seat or as an alternative to the Constituency Development Committee
where the government lost the parliamentary seat.
Whilst the committees may to a large extent be under the exclusive control of the government
their funding is greatly dependent on the public spending policy adopted by the parliament
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2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

guided by the reports of the Comptroller General based on the feedback received from the
local committees in the constituencies. This is in addition to annual audits by the Office of the
Auditor General as well as scrutiny and inquiries into committee operations by the
Ombudsman whose recommendations are binding on the Central Public Bureau as the body
with the residual interest in all public service matters and thus empowered to take actions
geared towards injecting and upholding professionalism in these forums as it deems fit.
The committee is constituted of individuals including for instance losers in the party
nominations of the ruling party as well as parliamentary election losers from the government
side.
The committees receive directions from the Secretary to the Cabinet, who acts as their head
and liaison in the Cabinet, guided by and based on the government policy and the feedback
from the committee.

Quasi-Government Organisations (QUANGOS)

These are regional departmental special purpose vehicles with area-specific mandates.
They are created by the minister in a central state effort to ensure best practices and standards
in public service delivery are upheld by the devolved government units through capacity
building and provision of specialised technical assistance and funding coupled with dynamic
monitoring from above as well as reliable feedback mechanism from below.
As such, the quasi-government organisations play a prescriptive role in an advisory capacity
to the sub-national governments on specific sectional matters falling within the mandate of
the ministry under which the QUANGOS is authorised to operate for instance health,
education, internal security.
The QUANGOS assists in enhancing and advising on the acceptable standards to determine
operational guidelines and the practices including the appropriate personnel requirements that
are best tailored to suit the specific needs and circumstances of the public service bodies
operating in a particular area as well as funding such public sector programmes.
They therefore simply configure the most appropriate modes of public service delivery
mechanisms from specifications formulated through policy directives of the local government
and according to the needs and preferences of the local residents in that area. They then help
in realigning such operations with the overall national aspirations by determining the
availability of any extra funding for the public programmes and projects in that area.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Their scale of operations is limited to the territorial jurisdiction of the local government
within which they operate with the scope of their activities confined to the public concern
segment of the ministry they serve under.
Quasi-Government Organisations are operationally independent but rely on the state for
funding.
Once established through a ministerial directive under the General Act regulating and guiding
the establishment and subsequent activities and relations of the QUANGOS, the institution is
consequently reverted to the general direction and supervision of the Central Public Bureau
as a result of its residual interest in public service policy and delivery mechanisms.
The Central Public Bureau is the one responsible for monitoring and funding of the
QUANGOS in a bid to ensure professionalism in public service delivery. However, it may
only intervene in the operations of these bodies as a remedial action in its capacity as a public
service regulator.
Quasi-Government Organisations are staffed with bureaucrats who are technocrats and are
thus employed according to their expertise and skills in respect to particular fields of public
sector.

Auditor General
The Auditor General is charged with the responsibility of auditing public sector finances and
performance. In discharging his duties he is empowered to have complete and total access to
records in all public sector agencies. He makes an annual audit report addressing and
detailing the situation of public service delivery as well as application of all disbursed public
funds, which he then presents before Parliament through the public accounts committee.
In discharging his duties the Auditor General is not under direction or control of any person
or authority.

Comptroller General
He is the controller of the national budget. Once the Ministry of Finance prepares the budget
he then takes the responsibility of disbursing the funds as per the allocations by the Finance
Ministry. Once the funds have been disbursed he compiles a report confirming that the funds
were promptly and properly disbursed to the areas the funds were allocated.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

He does not take part in the allocation of funds only in the disbursement; however, he may
make very influential and persuasive remarks on the budgetary allocations by the Ministry of
Finance which he submits to the public accounts committee to act as a guideline when
making recommendations as to the passing of the budget once presented before Parliament.
In discharging his duties the Comptroller General works independent of any undue influence
from any person or authority.
In order to work more effectively he oversees a series of local committees operating at the
constituency level, which bear the responsibility of disbursing the CDF funds from the
national coffers through the Office of the Comptroller General.
The Office of the Comptroller General acts as the custodian of the treasury and all access to
the public funds must be made through it. It is therefore the Comptroller General who
essentially avails funds for all appropriations made by the Ministry of Finance and passed by
parliament. The Ministry of Finance on the other hand is mandated to make and oversee the
implementation of the national fiscal policies as well as making the budgetary allocations
necessary for running the government and funding government programmes.

Ombudsman
He is appointed and authorised to receive and investigate complaints made by individuals
against abuses or capricious acts of public officials. His jurisdiction covers the entire public
sector.
He investigates acts and the complaints thereof that cover issues of a non-litigious nature and
those that would be unsuitable for litigation for instance cases of delays in issuance of various
national documents and public service delivery generally.
To discharge his duties effectively he is assigned staff to work in field offices throughout the
country where individuals can make their complaints. The Ombudsman is also responsible
for conducting public awareness programmes aimed at sensitising the public on their rights
and what should be their expectations as regarding service delivery by public service officials
and agencies as well as public information access service to assist the public in accessing
crucial information on various government services.
The Ombudsman makes periodic reports to act as scorecards and indicators of the quality of
service delivered by public officials and institutions on the basis of for instance the number of
complaints received by the Ombudsman within a specific period of time. As such though his

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

role may seem predominantly reactive he also has a proactive responsibility in monitoring
public service delivery in the public sector.
The Ombudsman may make inquiries into all complaints against public officials submitted to
him. On completion of the inquiry the Ombudsman compiles his findings and may make
recommendations for disciplinary actions to be taken against the culprit(s). His
recommendations are binding on the public service authorities mandated to take disciplinary
measures against such individuals.
The mandate of the Ombudsman originates from the Parliament and as such he is the
Legislature’s watchdog in the public sector with respect to public service delivery. In this
respect he tables an annual report before Parliament through the Public Administration
Committee on the operations of the Office of the Ombudsman for that year.

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Kinyua T. Kihara

2008, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.