Ethnic Inclusivism and Exclusivism in Kenya’s Politics: A Dialectical Analysis of the Mwai Kibaki Regime, 2002–2013

Ethnic exclusion by the regimes has consistently been a setback to nation-building in Kenya since it became an independent state in 1963. This has led to inequality in the society, political instability, and fragmentation of the society since each administration has been inclined towards a certain ethnic group. These exclusionary practices have a history of being in existence as a result of colonial legacies even after the democracy reforms such as the 2010 Constitution had an impact on governance, the level of trust among people and the development of the nation. The main objective of the study was to examine the dynamics of ethnic inclusivism efforts and ethnic exclusivism continuation under the Mwai Kibaki regime (2002-2013). The current study was grounded on two complementary theories namely; Ethnic identity and Political Patronage Theories. The Ethnic Identity Theory was utilized to describe the effect of ethnic affiliations on political alliances, voting patterns and resource access whereas the political patronage theory was used to describe how patronage affected the strain between attempts at ethnic inclusivism and ongoing ethnic exclusivism. This study employed a historical design as the study thoroughly examined how the regime-based ethnic exclusion affected the nation-building process in Kenya. The study used a qualitative approach based on the multi-dimensional political, historical, and social-cultural nature of ethnic exclusion. Open-ended interview schedules were also used to collect quantitative data, and it gave the respondents the freedom to discuss their responses. The study used both simple random and stratified sampling to achieve the desired sample that was representative of the diversity of Kenya in relation to ethnicity, region and professional