Transmutation of Politics in Gem Constituency, Siaya County (Kenya)

Post-Colonial Kenya’s political composition and structure welcomed diversified philosophies and policies. It was a trial and error because Kenya was not mature enough to govern itself politically. It is clear that between 1920 when Kenya became one of the British Colonies and 1963 when Kenya became a Republic barely forty-three years. The political morphology was based on regions where the active political actors hailed from. This formation was affected by the boundary structures that had been mapped by the colonialists. It is obvious that due rush for independence Kenyans was compelled to adopt them as they were. The second challenge that emerged immediately after independence was the merging of communities together either at the province, district, constituency, or location. The other elephant in the room was the emergence of tribalism which affected mostly the metropolitan regions. The most affected were towns, settlement schemes, and constituencies occupied by more than one ethnic community. This trend affected the political alignment and realignment of Nyanza politicians. The jeopardy emanated from national politics and was triggered down to the constituency level. In this gesture, Gem as a constituency in Kenya emerged as a replica of national politics. In some instances, the orchestra took political hunting and assassination allegations. In most junctures, the formation of regional political parties became the order of the day. These writings are based on Gem constituency politics, however, in some instances some literature cut across the indicated boundaries to make information clearer. Information has been gathered from primary and secondary sources. Additionally, the writings are triggered toward positive alignment and realignment of political structures in the nation for a positive dimension.