Introduction
About The Manual
This manual has been specially prepared for the second phase of Kenya’s National Civic Education Programme: NCEP-II. It is addressed to all those with a facilitating role in that programme, whether running workshops, addressing meetings, managing role plays, writing radio scripts, promoting community theatre – or working on any kind of educational activity.
The first phase of the programme ran from August 2000 to September 2002. As you will be aware, the key upcoming event at that time was Kenya’s third multi-party General Election. This second phase is starting up after the referendum on the Constitution – so an initial concern of the programme is to reflect on the process that the country went through in the period leading up to the referendum and to explore the implications of the referendum’s result.
NCEP-II has taken the name Uraia – ‘Citizenship’. Because civic education is, of course, about citizenship, about what it means to be a citizen – about the rights and also the responsibilities of being a citizen of the nation-state of Kenya. The five main themes of Uraia are:
You will find more details about the NCEP ‘curriculum’, about the contents of this manual and about how the manual is organised, in the following sections.
How the Uraia Programme Is Organised
The NCEP programme aims at fostering a mature political culture in Kenya: a culture in which citizens are able to exercise their rights and responsibilities – and to participate effectively in the broadening of democracy the country. It will raise awareness of human rights and good governance, and it will promote tools for enabling Kenyans to hold their government accountable.
The donors supporting NCEP-II, or Uraia, have established a joint account or ‘basket fund’. The donors are the governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom – and the Austrian Development Agency, UNDP, USAID and the European Commission.
The programme is managed jointly by a Technical Assistance Team (TAT) and a Financial Management Agent (FMA). The TAT facilitates the day-to-day running of the programme and acts as advisor to the Programme Steering Committee (PSC); while the FMA is responsible for the establishment and management of accounting systems, financial monitoring, disbursements and procurement. The donors have appointed IntermediaNCG as the TAT and KPMG Kenya as the FMA. The PSC consists of representatives from each of five consortia of civil society organisations (CSOs) and the programme’s Donor Committee (DC).
The programme is implemented by a number of CSOs – including human rights groups and faith-based organisations – all coordinated by the four consortia that have agreed to work together in order to pool methodologies and experience, avoid duplication, and enhance the more effective participation of a wide cross-section of Kenyan society (particularly the poor) in this national programme.
The consortia are:
How the Manual Is Organised
The materials that make up this manual have been chosen to guide and inspire the CSOs who are implementing civic education activities. But it is up to each individual Uraia project to adapt and use these materials in ways that are appropriate to its intended target group.
Also, the manual is a living and changing document. Each individual project is being asked to record the stories that arise and the feedback that comes from participants. These contributions, as well as any other relevant information that comes along, will help to enrich the manual over time – and so make it a resource that is truly representative of the various information needs and the diverse views of people right across the nation.
The manual builds on civic education materials that were used during the first phase of NCEP. The content is clustered around five modules that mirror the five themes mentioned above:
Other themes that cut across all units are gender issues, environmental concerns and HIV/AIDS.
In order to easily and regularly update and adapt the manual, it is presented in this loose-leaf form. The content is divided into five modules – and each module is divided into a number of units. Each unit could, for example, be the topic for a discussion session, the issue for a role play, or the source for a radio script.
For each unit, the manual provides three different kinds of material:
There is a final section of the manual – the Toolkit – which gives advice on processes of facilitation, on such aspects as organising a workshop, conducting discussions and managing role plays. It also contains a variety of activities you might find useful in facilitating workshop-type discussion sessions.
Uraia – The NCEP Curriculum
What follows is an introductory overview of the Uraia curriculum:
Introductory Session
What is Civic Education?
A review of the objectives of civic education, and a commentary on the role of the facilitator of civic education activities.
Module One: Kenya and Its Citizens
Unit 1.1: What is Kenya?
An exploration of the concept of nationhood; a review of how Kenya became a nation; a discussion on how far Kenya has advanced along the road to nationhood - and what still needs to be done, what problems and issues still need to be resolved.
Unit 1.2: Who is a Kenyan?
A discussion of the ethnic and cultural diversity of Kenya’s population; an assessment of the opportunities and the threats of having a multi-cultural nation.
Unit 1.3: How does Kenya relate to the rest of the world?
An analysis of the three levels of interaction between Kenya and the rest of the world: Kenya and its neighbours (regional), Kenya and other African countries (pan-African), and Kenya in the global context – taking up issues related to trade and globalisation, security and the threat of terrorism, tourism and outsiders’ perceptions of Kenya as a country.
Module Two: Kenya and ‘The Will of the People’
Unit 2.1: What is democracy?
An explanation of the general principles and values underpinning democracy – values to do with equality, justice and human rights. It distinguishes between ‘direct democracy’, ‘liberal democracy’ and ‘social democracy’. It raises questions related to such concepts as ‘separation of powers’ and ‘checks and balances’.
Unit 2.2: How does democracy works in Africa?
A look back to some traditional systems of governance and a review of different forms of government that have developed in Africa – and, after a commentary on the legacies of the colonial era, a discussion focusing on potential threats to democracy, such as military coups and dictatorial systems.
Unit 2.3: How does democracy works in Kenya?
An examination of the machinery of democracy in Kenya – the parliamentary system, the electoral process, the registration of voters, the eligibility of candidates – and a review of the factors that inhibit women’s participation in politics.
Unit 2.4: How does democracy work at the local level?
Addressing key concepts of decentralisation and devolution: what these concepts mean in practice in Kenya – assessing the role of local authorities and the Local Government Reform Programme.
Module Three: Governing for Development
Unit 3.1: What is good governance?
Focusing on the different levels of governance that exist in society (at state level through the government, at community level and in the family); exploring the values and norms of good governance – focusing on different types of leadership and the relationship between good governance and democratic leadership.
Unit 3.2: How are public resources managed?
A review of income generating activities of the government and how resources are managed through its various institutions – and an appraisal of several practices that represent bad governance, such as corruption, political patronage, nepotism, and inefficient administration. It focuses on the different laws and practices related to how natural resources (land, water, wildlife, minerals and forests) are managed in Kenya – raising issues related to long-term sustainability and environmental protection.
Unit 3.3: Entrenching good governance
Asking what factors (leadership, political will, etc.) influence the practice of governance; reviewing the laws and institutions that can help promote good governance – and exploring strategies and practices that can strengthen the ‘institutional pillars’ and so entrench good governance as an automatic, habitual way of conducting public affairs.
Module Four: The Constitution, Constitutionalism & the Rule of Law
Unit 4.1: Why do we have a Constitution and what is the meaning of Constitutionalism?
A discussion on the role of the Constitution; an overview of key constitutional developments since Kenya’s independence; a reflection on the recent constitutional reform process – and a review of the key elements of the Constitution itself.
Unit 4.2: How does the judicial process work in Kenya?
Tracing the development of the judicial system in Kenya but focusing on the system as it is today – and an assessment of how far people trust the judicial process, how well it work in practice, and what can be improved.
Unit 4.3: What is the role of the police?
An exploration of the role of the police in society – their security and stability functions – and an assessment of how they perform their duties.
Unit 5.1: Universal principles and international treaties
A review of the universal principles of human rights and the international treaties and conventions that Kenya is a signatory to – the rights of the child, women’s rights, etc – and an assessment of the extent to which these have been ‘domesticated’ into national laws and practices.
Unit 5.2: Human rights in Kenya
An overview of the human rights situation in Kenya today and how it has changed over time; a discussion of common abuses, such as violence against women, police brutality and use of excessive force – and an assessment of improvements in recent years.
Session 5.3: Human rights institutions
Focusing on the key human rights institutions in Kenya and where participants can turn to for advice or to report on human rights violations; reviewing the role of civil society, the media and paralegals.
How to Use the Manual
We are encouraging the CSOs who are implementing the Uraia programme to use a wide range of approaches in conducting their civic education activities. In NCEP-I some projects made excellent use of theatre. Faith-based groups took the opportunity of addressing congregations at the time of religious services. In the north-east of Kenya, one CSO used the traditional ‘rukub’ camel caravans to make contact with the pastoralist communities. And there are many other possibilities for promoting civic education – in radio programmes, through televised debates, and through songs…
However, we recognise that many of you will be carrying out civic education in the more conventional workshop or discussion group settings. For you, this manual should be particularly useful. You could, for example, work through the modules and their related units in a series of sessions. The scenarios provide ideas for triggering discussion; the background material will help you make presentations or prepare you for answering queries; the notes on facilitation will assist you in conducting sessions; and you can also run off copies of the handout materials.
The rationale behind the design of this manual is that it encourages a participatory approach. Your ‘students’ will be adults. And, whatever their level of education, whatever their experience, they will learn more from you if you try to ‘teach’ them less. If you use participatory methods, you will arouse more interest, make the topics more relevant, and explore issues more deeply. Not only that – since participation is one of the core concepts of civic education, it would be quite contradictory, wouldn’t it, if your civic education methods were not participatory?
In the facilitator’s notes there are suggestions for stimulating discussion. Also, in the Toolkit section you will find, for those of you with less experience, a review of facilitation methods – presentations, discussions, case studies and role plays. There are also a number of examples of exercises and activities – culled from a number of sources – that you might find useful in setting climates, raising issues and illustrating concepts.
If you don’t already know them, give them a try. If you know of others – tell us about them!