NTV journalist Fredrick Muitiriri has spoken about the state of democracy in East Africa, using Kenya as a point of reference while commenting on recent elections in Tanzania.
In a detailed post shared on his social media pages, Muitiriri noted that while Kenya has made significant democratic progress over the years, neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda are still navigating political environments similar to Kenya’s past.
“Tanzania and their sister Uganda can only dream of where Kenya is,” he wrote. “They are precisely what I’ve been reading about the one-party state in Kenya in the 70s and 80s. Lots of semblance.”
Muitiriri highlighted Kenya’s 2010 Constitution as a milestone that transformed governance and protected civil liberties.
He said the document remains one of the country’s greatest achievements, crediting both past and present generations of reformists for safeguarding it.
“The 2010 constitution is the single most important document Kenyans can pride about,” he stated. “Fortunately for us, most of the generals who fought bitterly, some with their blood, for the new constitution, are alive and well. Younger generations of activists have taken up the mantle and are protecting it with all their might.”
According to the journalist, Kenya’s current democratic stability is also influenced by its international standing. He observed that the country’s partnership with Western nations has helped sustain accountability and discourage authoritarianism.
“We are also lucky that the West regard Kenya as a strategic partner and would not allow it to sink to what we are witnessing in Tanzania,” Muitiriri said.
He expressed hope that Tanzania and Uganda would continue to strengthen their democratic institutions, noting that Kenya’s own progress came through years of struggle and sacrifice.
“It will take them years to get to where we are and hopefully not with blood like Kenyans did. But they have started, we wish them well,” he wrote.