Ethnic Identity Trumps Economic Policies in Kenyan Vote

Mike Mwaura says he doesn’t care much about the policies of Kenya’s presidential candidates in March 4 elections. He wants a fellow ethnic Kikuyu to retain power to keep members of his tribe in important positions.

“We protect our own,” said Mwaura, a 35-year-old taxi driver in Nairobi, the capital. “A leader from another tribe could choose a new town clerk, and then our taxi licenses could be taken and replaced by his tribesmen.”