Kenyans have been unable to exercise their right to choose their leaders in genuinely open and competitive elections. Moi's election victories have been achieved through political repression, media control, and dubious electoral procedures.  His shrewd ability to play upon divisions within the opposition and to use the form, but not the spirit, of democratic institutions to advance his own interests and those of KANU are legendary.  Physical violence, a usually docile judiciary, police powers, and executive decrees have been used against political opponents and in efforts to undermine the wider civil society. Power is heavily concentrated in the executive branch of government.   In July 2000, Kenyan ministers called for changes to the constitution to allow Arap Moi to stay in office after 2002. 

The right of citizens to effectively participate in the political life of the country is limited.  Legislation that had established the constitutional review process with the participation of a wide range of civic and associational groups was revised in 1999, and the process was channeled through the KANU-controlled parliament.  The review proceeded very slowly in 2000, and a competing, unofficial, commission, sponsored by the religious community, was organized.  These activities took place against the backdrop of national elections, which must be held by 2002.  It is unclear whether meaningful reforms can be enacted by then and if, not, whether the opposition would boycott these elections.

Meanwhile, ten opposition MPs scheduled to address a July rally against the government review process were attacked and held hostage in parliament by ruling party youths who also damaged their cars in the presence of police, who did nothing to stop the mayhem.   The violent gangs also sealed off the venue of the meeting which the police then cancelled, citing security reasons. 

In 2000 the Kenyan parliament published a “list of shame” identifying by name a number of high-ranking government officials who were implicated in corruption.  These included Vice President George Saitoti, trade and tourism minister Nicholas Biwott,  a son of Moi and nearly a dozen cabinet members.   Under government pressure the report was subsequently revised and the names deleted.

The security forces regularly violate constitutional guarantees regarding detention, privacy, search, and seizure. An American priest who was a long-time human rights campaigner was killed, allegedly by pro-KANU assassins.  Groups such as the Kenyan Human Rights Commission and the National Council of Churches of Kenya have publicized abuses and demanded respect for civil and political liberties.  The government’s attitude towards civil society, however, is generally hostile and suspicious.  In 1999, for example, a senior government minister warned nongovernmental organizations that "meddle in politics" that they risked deregistration, although such an action would be of questionable legality.

A number of judicial reforms have been announced in recent years.  A report on judicial corruption was issued in 1999. Courts, however, are still heavily influenced by the executive and cannot be relied on to protect constitutional rights or offer fair trials. Local chiefs still exercise sometimes arbitrary and violent power.  Prison conditions are harsh and often life-threatening.

Freedom of expression is severely limited by lack of access to the dominant state broadcast media and continued repression of the private press. The country's few private radio and television stations are either pro-Moi or carefully apolitical. Private print media remain vibrant, but under serious threat.  Journalists have been charged with criminal libel, and independent publications are subject to harassment in their business operations. Moi has decreed that it is a crime to "insult" him, and sedition laws have been employed in efforts to silence any criticism. 

Trade unions generally follow government policy on key issues.  For example, the general secretary of Central Organisations of Trade Unions (COTU) instructed members not to support calls by opposition parties and civil society groups for demonstrations over constitutional reform. Unions have occasionally defied a 1993 ministry of labor decree that forbids all strikes, despite constitutional guarantees to the contrary.  Civil servants and university academic staff may join only government-designated unions.  Approximately one-fifth of the country's 1.5 million industrial workforce is unionized.

Ethnically based tension continues in parts of Kenya.  Competing land claims often provide the spark.  In August, for example, three people were killed in ongoing tribal clashes between the Masai and Kipsigis communities in central Kenya.  Pro-KANU elements have been accused of instigating ethnic cleansing for political purposes.  A Judicial Commission on Tribal Clashes has been appointed, but it has had little effect.

Kenya’s economy and infrastructure continued to deteriorate significantly.  Most of Kenya's 29 million people are poor and survive through subsistence agriculture.  Nepotism and fraud inhibit economic opportunity and discourage greater foreign investment.  Excessive government regulation concerning economic activity breeds corruption.

In general there is freedom of religion, although uneasy relations between Muslims and other faiths at times result in violence.  For example, a mosque erected by newly converted Muslims in the Rift Valley, the scene of considerable ethnic conflict, was burned, allegedly by police officers.  In early 2000 rioting between Catholics and Moslems occurred in central Kenya.

Women in Kenya continue to face serious obstacles in the exercise of their freedoms.  A draft gender equity bill created considerable public controversy, with some Muslims  protesting that it was too sweeping in scope.  Some evidence suggests that violence against women in increasing.   A survey carried out by a women’s rights group states that more than 49 women were murdered by their spouses in 1998 alone, a 79 percent increase in cases since 1995.  Many of the cases have gone unpunished, despite repeated complaints by women’s groups that Kenyan laws remain too lenient in sentencing offenders in cases of violence against women.

Women are also seriously underrepresented in Kenya’s politics and government.   With only 7 women legislators in a 222-member parliament, Kenya ranks last among the 15 eastern and southern African countries, in number of women legislators.