Kenya ‘a beacon of democracy’ in East Africa, says expert.
Kenya was one of the world’s first countries with an independent press, and is a model for Africa. As the new president of the country, you have given it a new lease of life,” Richard Wurmbrand, the editor of Africa News, told the Daily Monitor’s Kipnis-Borgerhoffen on Wednesday.
Wurmbrand gave an interview to the Monitor after flying from the United States to Kenya to cover the first day of the general election.
The Daily Monitor talked to the editor of Africa News, Richard Wurmbrand, on the flight from the United States to Kenya to see how his country has developed into a model of democracy and freedom.
Kipnis-Borgerhoffen: What is the background of the country and what is it like to live in?
Wurmbrand: We are all born under the stars. We are all born free. We need a freedom of thought and freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
And therefore I think it is very important that if you are born in a country that is free, you cannot live in a country that is not free. And if you live in a country that is not free you cannot write about it, you cannot talk about it, you cannot give it a voice or bring it out.
So we want every child in this country to grow up in a country that is free and democratic.
Kipnis-Borgerhoffen: What are the people of Kenya doing to advance the cause of democracy in the country?
Wurmbrand: I think it is very clear that we are at the forefront in the world of democracy and development. When you look at the statistics over the last four or five years, it is a beacon of democracy and development.
Over the last four years, Kenya has passed all the democratic criteria that exist today in the United Nations. It has passed the criteria of the International Court of Justice, the Council of Europe, the East African Union …
Kipnis-Borgerhoffen: In other words, it is a democracy?
Wurmbrand: Yeah. You look at the fact that the ruling party just got a majority in the House of Assembly.
That is the first time that Kenya is passing the rule of the executive over the parliament. It is the first time that
