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Forum For The Restoration Of Democracy - Kenya [FORD-KENYA]
FORD KENYA - SIMBA
Contact Details
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Physical Address: Odinga Oginga Hse. Argwings Kodhek Rd.
Postal Address: P.O.Box 43591-00100, Nairobi
Telephone: 020-3869338
Mobile: 0722-882775
Email: fordkenya@yahoo.com
Website: www.fordkenya.com
Brief History
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The history of Ford-Kenya is essentially the history of multi-party politics in Kenya. Kenya was a one party state until December 1991, when a special conference of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) party agreed to introduce a multiparty political system.
An umbrella political grouping, The Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) had been formed in August 1991 by six opposition leaders to fight for change in the country.
But President Daniel arap Moi had outlawed it, and its leaders had been arrested and detained.
They were released only after sustained pressure from Britain, the USA and Scandinavian countries.
In August 1992 Ford split into two factions - Ford-Asili (led by Kenneth Matiba) and Ford-Kenya (led by Oginga 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.
Oginga Odinga died in January 1994, and was succeeded as Chairman of Ford-Kenya by Michael Wamalwa Kijana. At the time, Ford Kenya's leadership included some of the top opposition leaders in Kenya, including lawyer James Orengo, economist Professor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Raila Odinga, the son of Oginga Odinga, Oburu Odinga, Raila's elder brother, environmentalist (and, later on, Nobel laureate) Wangari Maathai, 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 is now recovering 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 came a lowly fourth, behind Raila's NDP
Objectives
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Promotion of;
-Human rights
-Civil Liberties
-Freedom and rights of the individual
-Rights of women
-Right of the child
-Security of persons
-Right to property
-Right to fair trial
-Freedom of movement, thought, conscience, expression, press, religion and association
Party Leadership Structure
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National Chair: Hon. Musikari N. Kombo EGH
Secretary General: Hon. John Munyes, EGH
National Treasurer: Al Haji Baricha
National Organizing Sec. Cllr. Peter Munyae
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