For reform to succeed, the range of effective interests with a voice at the table must extend beyond those of the political class—made up of top politicians and civil servants with remarkable staying power….

Kenya has successfully run the gauntlet of political transition. But the road ahead is daunting and hazardous. … Yet Kenya has major assets—a vital civil society that may be the key to a successful constitutional reform process over the next few months, … and a population that is optimistic about the future.

The 1990s saw a great deal of positive political change in Kenya—most notably, relative freedom of speech and organization, [and] regular multiparty elections. … But almost counterintuitively, the regime has shrunk into something of a corrupt and hollow shell. … As the 2002 election begins to loom, echoes of the repression of the one-party era have begun to be felt.