Forum for the Restoration of Democracy–Kenya (FORD–Kenya) is a Kenyan political party. The party has sat in the government of Kenya once, under the National Rainbow Coalition, from 2003 to 2007, having ended forty years of one party (

Kenya African National Union The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 19 ...

) rule. In April 2022, the party joined the

Kenya Kwanza Kenya Kwanza ( Swahili: "Kenya First") is a Kenyan political alliance currently headed by William Ruto. The political coalition currently forms the majority side in both the National Assembly as well as the Senate of Kenya. It was formed in the ...

coalition for the August 2022 elections, and is headed by

Moses Wetangula Moses Francis Masika Wetang'ula (born 13 September 1956), is the current Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, as well as leader of the FORD-Kenya party. He served in the government of Kenya as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2 ...

, the current speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya

History

The history of FORD-Kenya is essentially the history of

multi-party In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coa ...

politics in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Kenya was a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

until December 1991, when a special conference of the ruling

(KANU) agreed to introduce a multiparty political system. An umbrella political grouping, the

Forum for the Restoration of Democracy Forum for the Restoration of Democracy was a political party and a movement against the one-party system in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 ...

(FORD), had been formed in August 1991 by six opposition leaders to fight for change in the country. The six were Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Phillip Gachoka, Ahmed Bamahariz, Salim Ndamwe, Masinde Muliro and George Nthenge. But President

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

had outlawed it, its leaders were under constant surveillance by security agents, and their meetings outlawed. Intimidation only eased after sustained pressure from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Scandinavian countries. In August 1992, due to an internal power struggle over the leadership of FORD, the party split into two factions: FORD-Asili (led by

Kenneth Matiba Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba (1 June 1932 – 15 April 2018) was a Kenyan politician and an activist for democracy. He came in at second place in the 1992 presidential election. In November 2007, he announced that he would stand as a president ...

) and FORD-Kenya (led by

Oginga Odinga Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (October 1911 – 20 January 1994) was a Luo chieftain who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He later served as Kenya's first Vice-President, and thereafter as opposition leader. Odinga ...

). FORD-Kenya performed poorly in the general elections of 1992, coming a distant third behind KANU and FORD-Asili. The reelection of President Moi and KANU, both deeply unpopular, owed much to the division of the original FORD. Odinga died in January 1994 and was succeeded as chairman of FORD-Kenya by

Michael Wamalwa Kijana Michael Christopher Kijana Wamalwa (25 November 1944 – 23 August 2003) was a renowned Kenyan politician who at the time of his death was serving as the eighth Vice-President of Kenya. Early life Michael Christopher Kijana Wamalwa was born in S ...

. At the time, FORD-Kenya's leadership included some of the top opposition leaders in Kenya, including lawyer

James Orengo James Aggrey Bob Orengo is a Kenyan lawyer, a well known human rights activist and politician who is the current governor for Siaya County. He is also one of the few Kenyan lawyers who have attained the professional grade of Senior counsel in t ...

, economist Professor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o,

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

(the son of Oginga Odinga),

Oburu Odinga Oburu Ng'ong'a Oginga (born 15 October 1943) is a Kenyan politician who is currently serving as senator for Siaya County, having been elected in the elections of August 2022. He is an immediate former member for the East African Legislative Asse ...

(Raila's elder brother), environmentalist, and, later on, Nobel laureate,

Wangari Maathai Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the Un ...

, and many others. But the party was headed for yet another split. Michael Wamalwa and Raila Odinga tussled over the leadership of FORD-Kenya for 2 years. In 1997, Wamalwa beat Odinga in free and fair party elections, precipitating a devastating tribal split that the party has yet to recover from. Raila, with a sizeable number of Luo MP's, left FORD-Kenya to join the National Development Party of Kenya (NDP). In the 1997 general elections, FORD-Kenya finished fourth, behind Raila's NDP.

General elections

2002 General elections

Kenya's opposition political parties finally put their differences behind them in the run-up to the 2002 general elections, fielding one candidate, Mwai Kibaki, for the presidency. Kibaki defeated the KANU candidate,

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

, and formed a government of national unity. He appointed FORD-Kenya's leader, Michael Wamalwa, to be vice president and gave a number of

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

positions to FORD-Kenya MPs.

2013 General elections

In December 2012 it was one of four parties to enter into

Coalition for Reforms and Democracy The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy was a coalition of multiple political parties, built around the triumvirate of Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Moses Wetangula, to contest the Kenya general elections of 2013. The members of the coalit ...

, alongside

Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augu ...

Charity Ngilu Charity Kaluki Ngilu (born 28 January 1952) is a Kenyan politician and the second governor elected for Kitui County. She unsuccessfully vied to be President of the Republic of Kenya in 1997. She served as Minister for Health from 2003 until 200 ...

's National Rainbow Coalition, and Kalonzo Musyoka's

Wiper Democratic Movement – Kenya The Wiper Democratic Movement–Kenya (WDM-K), formally Orange Democratic Movement–Kenya (ODM–Kenya), is a political party in Kenya, which originated as a result of the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum. It is headed by Kalonzo Musyoka, w ...

Change of leadership

Michael Wamalwa Kijana died in London on 23 August 2003 after a long illness. After the funeral, FORD-Kenya elected

Musikari Kombo Musikari Nazi KomboOffice of Public CommunicationsMinisters (born March 13, 1944) is a Kenyan politician who serves as a nominated Member of Parliament. Born in Bungoma District, he attended Misikhu Primary School for his elementary education, th ...

to succeed Wamalwa, beating another FORD-Kenya MP, Dr.

Mukhisa Kituyi Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi (born October 20, 1956) is a Kenyan politician who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD from September 2013-February 2021 when he stepped down for his presidential ambitio ...

, in the contest. With neither the charisma of Michael Wamalwa nor the crowd-pulling popularity of Raila Odinga, Kombo struggled to establish the party as an influential component of the ruling coalition. The party felt shortchanged after the death of Wamalwa, when the prized position of vice president was handed to the LDP's

Moody Awori Arthur Moody Awori (born 5 December 1928), known as "Uncle Moody", is a former Kenyan politician who served as the ninth Vice President of Kenya from 25 September 2003constitutional referendum of 2005. This forced President Mwai Kibaki to take Kombo and FORD-Kenya seriously and increase the number of FORD-Kenya cabinet ministers to 6 from 3 and acquire other senior civil service appointments for its party members. In March 2007, a breakaway party known as

New Ford Kenya New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

was registered by cabinet minister

Soita Shitanda Soita Shitanda (9 November 1959 – 24 May 2016) was a Kenyan politician. He belonged to New Ford Kenya and was elected to represent the Malava Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya. Soita represented Malava constituency since 1997, after ...

. Kituyi later joined the party. At the

Kenyan general election, 2007 General elections were held in Kenya on 27 December 2007. Voters elected the President, and members of the National Assembly. They coincided with the 2007 Kenyan local elections. Incumbent Mwai Kibaki, running on a Party of National Unity (PN ...

, FORD-Kenya aligned with the newly created Party of National Unity led by President Kibaki. It ran, however, its own candidates in a number of constituencies and local authorities. The election results were very poor as with a quarter of constituencies not yet decided had FORD-Kenya holding only one seat. Kombo's tenure ended with the party suffering through numerous court cases trying to get a new leader. Eventually,

became the leader of the party through a national delegates congress election.

Governing body

As gazetted on 30th of November 2021, the Registrar of Political Parties in Kenya gave notice that FORD-Kenya made changes to its governing body.

References

External links

Kenyaweb Article: Kenya2007 Manifesto2007 Parliamentary Candidates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forum for the Restoration of Democracy - Kenya 1992 establishments in Kenya Political parties established in 1992 Political parties in Kenya Social democratic parties in Africa