1. Unit 7 Political Systems of Africa
SS7CG2 The student will explain the structures of the modern government of Africa.
a. Compare the republican systems of government in the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of South Africa to the dictatorship of the Republic of Sudan, distinguishing the form of leadership and the role of the citizen in terms of voting and personal freedoms

2. The Republic of Kenya The powers of government are divided into
three groups:
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary

3. The Executive The Executive power is held by
the President who is elected by
direct popular vote for 5 years.
The winning candidate must receive
no less than 25% of the votes
in at least five of Kenya's eight Provinces.

4. The Executive The President of Kenya is the
Head of State, Head of Government
and Commander in Chief of
the armed forces. A person can
serve as President for a maximum
of two terms.

5. The Executive The current President is H. E.
Mr. Emilio Mwai Kibaki who took
over the Presidency on December 30, 2002.
The Vice-President is the President's
Chief Deputy. The president appoints the
Vice-President and Cabinet Ministers from
among Members of the National Assembly.

6. The Legislature (Parliament)
Legislative power is in the National
Assembly with 224 Cabinet members
(210 elected, 12 nominated, the Attorney
General, and the House Speaker). The
Speaker is the leader of Parliament
and is chosen by the members
of the National Assembly.

7. The Legislature (Parliament)
They serve a 5 year term that
can be extended or dissolved by the
President, or by a 2/3 majority
vote by the National Assembly. The
legislature makes the laws.

8. The Legislature (Parliament)
Kenya has a multi-party political system
with over 40 registered political parties.
Currently, the ruling party is the
National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).

9. The Judiciary The Court of Appeal This is the highest Court in Kenya.
It is presided over by the Judges
of Appeal and only attends to
appeals from the High Court.

10. The Judiciary The High Court of Kenya
This court has unlimited criminal and
civil jurisdiction at first instance, and
sits as a Court of appeal from
subordinate courts in both criminal
and civil cases.

11. The Judiciary Resident Magistrate's Courts
These have countrywide jurisdiction
with powers on punishment by
imprisonment up to five years or by
fine up to KSH500.

12. The Judiciary District Magistrate Courts
These are Courts of First, Second
and Third Class. They have jurisdiction
within the Districts and powers of
punishment by imprisonment for up to
five years or by fines of
up to KSH500.

13. The Judiciary Kadhi's Courts They have jurisdiction within districts,
to determine questions of Islamic Law.
They are subordinate courts that determine
cases relating to personal status, marriage,
divorce and inheritance in proceedings in
which all the parties profess the
Muslim religion.

14. Fundamental Rights and Freedom of Kenyan Citizens
Chapter V of the Kenyan Constitution protects the basic rights of every Kenyan citizen. Among the rights and freedoms enumerated in this chapter are:
Right to life
Personal liberty
Freedom from slavery and forced labor

15. Fundamental Rights and Freedom of Kenyan Citizens
Protection from inhuman treatment
Protection from deprivation of property
Protection against arbitrary search or entry
Freedom of conscience
Freedom of expression
Freedom of assembly and association

16. Fundamental Rights and Freedom of Kenyan Citizens
Freedom of movement
Protection from discrimination on any grounds including of race, religion etc.
Suffrage- vote at 18 years old

17. Fundamental Rights and Freedom of Kenyan Citizens
Citizenship
The constitution of Kenya prohibits dual
citizenship. A Kenyan citizen therefore
cannot at the same time be a
citizen of another country. A person can
become a Kenyan citizen by birth or
naturalization.

18. Republic of Sudan Executive The president is both the chief of
state and head of government. President
Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
(since 16 October 1993).
First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit
(since 4 August 2005)

19. Republic of Sudan Executive
Second Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed TAHA (since 20 September 2005).
The cabinet includes the Council of Ministers appointed by the president.

20. Republic of Sudan Executive Eligibility for becoming president:
Qualified electors
age: 21 years
Sudanese citizenship
literate
Ineligibility: conviction of crime relating to honor or honesty (in preceding seven years)

21. Legislative (Parliament)
National Legislature
Consists of a Council of States
(50 seats; members indirectly elected by
state legislatures to serve six-year terms)

22. Legislative (Parliament)
National Assembly
(450 seats; members presently appointed,
but in the future 75% of members
to be directly elected and 25%
elected in special or indirect elections;
to serve six-year terms)

23. Judicial Constitutional Court of nine justices;
National Supreme Court; National Courts
of Appeal; other national courts; National
Judicial Service Commission will undertake
overall management of the National
Judiciary. Legal System based on English
common law and Islamic law.

24. Constitution The constitution was implemented on
30 June 1998, partially suspended
12 December 1999 by President BASHIR.
The Interim National Constitution was
ratified 5 July The Constitution
of Southern Sudan signed December 2005.

25. Constitution Voter requirements: age: 21 years Sudanese citizenship
residence in constituency where voting for at least three months
Disqualifications: insanity

26. Government in South Africa
South Africa is a constitutional democracy
with a three-tier system of government
and an independent judiciary. The national,
provincial and local levels of government
all have legislative and executive authority
in their own areas with advisory from
traditional leaders.

27. The President and the Cabinet
The President, elected by the National
Assembly from among its members, is the
executive Head of State and leads the
Cabinet. The President may not serve more
than two 5-year terms in office. The
current President is Kgalema Motlanthe;
Executive Deputy Pres. is Baleka Mbete.

28. The President and the Cabinet
Serious violation of the Constitution is
one of the grounds on which the
President may be removed from office,
also on a two-thirds majority.

29. The President and the Cabinet
The Cabinet consists of the President,
the Deputy President and 25 Ministers.
The President appoints the Deputy
President and Ministers, assigns their
powers and functions, and may dismiss
them. All but 2 Ministers are selected
from the National Assembly.

30. Parliament The Legislative authority consists of two
houses, the National Assembly and the
National Council of Provinces.

31. Parliament The National Assembly The National Assembly consists of
members elected for a 5-year
term. It is presided over by a
Speaker, assisted by a Deputy Speaker.
The number of seats awarded to each
political party is in based on the
outcome of the national election.

32. Parliament The National Council of Provinces
(NCOP) was created to achieve
cooperative governance and participatory
democracy. The NCOP consists of 54
permanent members and 36 special
delegates, and elects its own chairperson.

33. The Constitution of South Africa
Human rights and freedoms
Human rights are given clear prominence
in the Constitution. They feature in the
Preamble with its stated intention of
establishing "a society based on
democratic values, social justice and
fundamental human rights".

34. The Constitution of South Africa
Among the rights stipulated are those of:
equality
freedom of expression and association
political and property rights
housing, healthcare, education
access to information
and access to courts.

35. The Constitution of South Africa
"Everyone has the right to life”
discrimination of sexual orientation is forbidden
Non-racialism and non-sexism.
Supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

36. The Constitution of South Africa
universal adult suffrage- vote at 18
a national common voters’ roll
regular elections
a multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness.

37. The Constitution of South Africa
Languages
The Constitution states that everyone
has the right to use the language
and participate in the cultural life of
his or her choice.

38. The Constitution of South Africa
Languages
The Constitution provides for 11 official
languages:
Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa,
isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana,
siSwati,Tshivenda and Xitsonga.

39. The Constitution of South Africa
Languages
Specific attention is also paid to the
Khoi, Nama and San languages and
to sign language. In addition, there is
mention of "all languages commonly used
by communities in South Africa" and
those used for religious purposes.

40. Credits: Embassy of Kenya Wash. D. C
Credits: Embassy of Kenya Wash. D.C. Library of Congress Sudan net South Africa. info reporter Kenya-information-guide CIA fact-book World Press. org