Safina ( in
Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa
* Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of ...
) is a political party in
Kenya, founded by palaeoanthropologist and conservationist
Richard Leakey together with lawyer
Paul Muite.
History
In May 1995, Richard Leakey joined some Kenyan intellectuals in launching a new political party. The Safina party was routinely harassed and even its application to become an official political party was not approved until 1997. That year, international donor institutions froze their aid to Kenya because of widespread corruption. To placate the donors,
Daniel arap Moi appointed Leakey as Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service in 1999. Leakey's second stint in the civil service lasted two years. He lost the cabinet post in 2001.
Politics
In the
legislative elections on 27 December 2007, the party won five out of 210 elected seats.
The party leader is Paul Muite, a former Member of Parliament for
Kabete Constituency
Kabete Constituency is an electoral constituency within Kiambu County that neighbours Westlands Constituency in Nairobi County. It is one of twelve constituencies in Kiambu County.
A study in 2005 revealed that Kabete constituency has the lowest ...
and a senior counsel at the Kenyan Bar. He and his running mate,
Shem Ochuodho
Shem Ochuodho is a Kenyan politician. He represented Rangwe constituency in Homa-Bay County between 1997 and 2002 and later became a computer consultant. He also serves as the chair of Kenya Diaspora Association.
Professional career
He then worke ...
, were contestants for the Presidency of Kenya in the
2013 Kenyan general election
General elections were held in Kenya on 4 March 2013. Voters elected the President, members of the National Assembly and newly formed Senate. They were the first elections held under the new constitution, which was approved in a 2010 referendum ...
.
Safina's highest political organ is the National Executive Council, which meets twice a year. The NEC is elected for four-year terms by a National Delegates Convention. The current NEC was elected on 15 July 2011.
References
External links
Official website (archived 4 September 2011)
Political parties in Kenya
{{Kenya-party-stub