Kenya Studies Review ISSN: 2150-5764 (online) Citation: Amutabi, Maurice (2009). Beyond Imperial Presidency in Kenya: Interrogating the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki Regimes and Implications for Democracy and Development. Kenya Studies Review: 1, 1, 55-84. Copyright © 2009 Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA) Beyond Imperial Presidency in Kenya: Interrogating the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki Regimes and Implications for Democracy and Development By Maurice N. Amutabi* Abstract This article uses a historical trajectory to examine the impact of presidential politics in development in Kenya, using Kenyatta, Mo and Kibaki regimes for illustration. My argument is that corruption and inefficiency of the three regimes has made Kenya very vulnerable, now regarded as one of the fragile states on the African continent. Kenyatta inherited colonial structures that were designed to serve British imperial and financial interests, and these structures have remained intact and have brought certain material advantages to privileged few, especially his family. A recurring problem for the three regimes has been the unresolved land issue and factiousness of the state. I suggest that the expansion of representational technologies and capacities have allowed people access to freedom, as well as important information and can make superior judgments. These new mentalities and self imaging have been generated, largely outside spaces of political control such as the internet which address the challenges of this new historical period. Proliferations of FM radio stations and gutter press have also added to this free flow of information. As a consequence, new critical discourses abound on Kenya’s past and present . New academic approaches such as postmodernism, multiculturalism and post colonialism have also helped to raise new questions – which this essay grapples with. Key words: Ethnicity; political parties; Kenyatta; Moi; Kibaki; ODM *Maurice Nyamanga Amutabi (Ph.D) teaches at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, USA. Citation Format Amutabi, Maurice (2009). Beyond Imperial Presidency in Kenya: Interrogating the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki Regimes and Implications for Democracy and Development. Kenya Studies Review: 1, 1, 55-84. Copyright © 2009 Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA)