Kenya government reform record to be reviewed by AU experts

October 23, 2009

Kenya has agreed to be reviewed by a team of African Union (AU) experts in November to assess the country's political reform record. The review is to be conducted by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The review, which was sanctioned by the African Union Heads of States, will determine the Kenyan unity government's performance since it was created last year, following a disputed election and resulting violence.

APRM Prime Minister Wycliffe Oparanya launched the preparatory activities for the assessment on Thursday. “The exercise will have particular emphasis on the institutions and stakeholders charged with carrying out the envisaged reforms,” Oparanya said.

The Lead Panelist for the APRM for Kenya, Graca Machel, will lead the review team. The assessment is scheduled to be conducted between November 16 and 20.

This comes several weeks after former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan encouraged the Kenyan government to speed up its reforms.

The APRM was created in 2003, and Kenya was one of the first ten African countries to acede to it. Under the review, which is voluntary, countries evaluate themselves, before a team of AU experts carry out an independent review. Results of the assessment are given to a Heads of State and Governments summit.