Kenya's brand new day: after 24 stifling years under an autocratic leader, Kenyans have elected a new President who promises reform. The move toward democracy could set an example for several other African nations.

NAIROBI, Kenya--A Kenyan police officer stopped a minibus full of passengers the other day and demanded a bribe from the driver, which is rather routine behavior in Kenya. But what happened next is completely new: The passengers poured out of the minibus and snatched the money back from the officer. They told him that corruption is no longer permitted in Kenya.

That attitude reflects the forces that recently elected a new, reform-minded government. For 24 years, this nation of 31 million people in East Africa had known only one President, Daniel arap Moi. His face is on Kenya's money. His photograph hung in every shop. There are Moi schools and Moi airports and Moi avenues.

But despite his presence everywhere, the dictatorial Moi had become extremely unpopular. Kenya's economy is in such dismal shape that most people get by on less than a dollar a day. Its roads are just as bad, with potholes so deep they tear up the bottoms of cars. From police officers to top political officials, corruption has been commonplace. When the constitution forced the 78-year-old Moi to retire at the end of last year, he tried to choose the man he wanted to replace him from the Kenya Africa National Union party, which had dominated the country since it gained independence in 1963. But Kenyans turned instead to an alliance of opposition groups called the National Rainbow Coalition, and a new President, Mwai Kibaki, to revive their country.

Yet the biggest change in Kenya since the election may be in the attitude of the people themselves. After years of feeling powerless, Kibaki's victory over Uhuru Kenyatta, who was Moi's chosen successor, has given ordinary people the sense that they are the ones in control. They danced in the streets after Kibaki won. And now they have begun to tell police officers and other corrupt officials that the old days are over.

"People feel empowered," says John Githongo, an anticorruption activist with Transparency International, an organization that is urging more Kenyans to fight bribery demands by government officials. "Ordinary people are saying they've had enough of corruption."

AN AFRICAN RIPPLE EFFECT?

The political change in Kenya is also causing excitement across Africa, which has more than 50 countries, many of which are in even more desperate shape than Kenya. There are dictatorships, where the people have no say at all, and economies so puny that most of the population struggles to survive. The people of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Sudan have known far more war than peace over the past few decades. Somalia does not have any government at all. Togo's president, who has served longer than any other ruler in Africa (since 1967), recently changed the law in his country so he can stay in power for the rest of his life. But if Kenya can transform itself from a one-party state, which it was for much of Moi's tenure, to a country where the people get to choose their leaders, many experts think similar progress could occur elsewhere on the continent.

"Something very dramatic has happened here," says Johnnie Carson, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya (not the entertainer), calling the peaceful transition from Moi to Kibaki "strong affirmation that democracy works in large African countries."

To outsiders, Kenya is best known for its unspoiled game parks, which attract hundreds of thousands of international visitors who want to see lions and elephants and other animals roaming free. It is the country that practically invented the "safari," which is the Swahili word for a journey but has come to mean a trip into a remote place to see wild animals.

Even those who have never visited Kenya are familiar with some things about it. A number of movies--including Out of Africa and the upcoming Tomb Raider 2--have been filmed here. The Survivor 3 television show took place in Kenya's Shaba National Reserve. And even The Lion King, the animated movie that introduced Swahili words such as "hakuna matata"("no worries") to Americans, used Kenya as its setting.

HOMELESS BOYS, RAMPANT CORRUPTION

But Kenya has many ugly sides as well. AIDS ravages the people, and the country's infant mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. There are thousands of homeless boys who live on the streets of Nairobi, the capital, sniffing glue. Many people, including college graduates, cannot find jobs. Corruption is such a part of the culture that it has its own nickname. If someone wants a bribe, they ask for "a little tea," and everybody knows they want money, not a drink.

"It's exciting to have a government that cares for our welfare, " says Rebecca Njoki, 13, an eighth-grader bubbling with excitement and expectations about the new government. "If I met the President today, I'd tell him thanks."

President Kibaki, a 71-year-old grandfather, served as Vice President to Moi in the 1980s. But he quit the government and became Moi's fiercest critic--which had landed many people in jail. He said that Moi ran Kenya as though it were his own fief and did not do enough to help the common people. "We don't want to be ruled anymore by those who dictate, declare orders, and issue instructions," Kibaki said during the campaign. "We want to be ruled by the law."

Kibaki began his term in a wheelchair, after suffering a broken arm, sprained ankle, and cracked vertebrae in a car accident during the campaign. His many supporters, however, say the injuries are not holding him back from transforming Kenya.

NEW HOPE, NEW PROMISES

Some of the boys who live on the streets say they are excited that the new government has promised to help them. James Kamau, 17, and his friend, Albert Kalungu, 21, both of whom sleep on cardboard boxes at night, say they support Kibaki's decision to make primary school free. Before, all children had to pay to go to class, which was difficult for poor families.

"Even if we'll come back to sleep on the streets after school, we'll be doing something to better our lives," says Albert.

Other Kenyans are dreaming of jobs. Jane Nyawera, 16, said she has faith that her life will improve with the new government. "On a scale from 1 to 10, I give them an 11," she says. "They have pledged to give 500,000 jobs every year. There has to be one job in there for me."

Derrick Ochieng, 14, wants jobs for his parents, which he considers more important than free school. "I may go to school for free, but what's the point when you do it with an empty stomach?" he asks. Both his parents worked at banks, but they were laid off in 2000. Since then, the family has had to rely on an aunt who farms to take care of him and his five siblings. "If my parents had a job, I know they wouldn't mind paying fees, and we'd have food," Derrick says.

Meeting Kenyans' high expectations will be difficult for Kibaki's government, which even in its early days has begun to experience some political infighting. But political experts say that the old government did so little to improve the country that anything Kibaki does will look better by comparison.

"Fellow Kenyans, I am inheriting a country which has been badly ravaged by years of misrule and ineptitude," Kibaki said bluntly at his inauguration, with Moi sitting expressionless nearby. The new President said later, "I promise not to let you down."

After 24 Years of Corrupt Rule, Kenyans Elect a New President and Hope for a New Day

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Why do you think Daniel arap Moi and his political party were able to hold on to power for so long?

* What's the better way to bring healing to Kenyan society--to punish former President Moi or to simply let him fade from view?

* Do you think Kibaki will be able to fulfill his promises?

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand how a people who have a sense of empowerment can change society for the better.

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

CRITICAL THINKING/DISCUSSION: The key element in this article may be found in the opening paragraph. Ask students why they think the bus passengers were able to summon the courage to defy the police officer. Why do they think the police officer allowed the passengers to rebuff his demand for a bribe? The answer, of course, is found on the same page; it is the new attitude of the people, the sense that they are empowered.

But how did this change emerge? Students should understand that there are shades of tyranny. Moi was a corrupt strongman, but he was not a Hitler. The article notes that Kenya's constitution forced him to retire. What does this fact suggest about the rule of law in the country? Might violence have erupted if Moi had tried to reject the constitutional mandate that he step down?

THE EVIL OF CORRUPTION: Students should understand that corruption is much more than paying petty bribes to traffic police. Tell them that corruption raises the cost of government and the price that business and individuals must pay for goods and services. It, therefore, weakens a country's economy. Ask what their own lives would be like if they had to pay bribes to be allowed to go to school, or if bribes were required to obtain medical care. Now imagine this corruption infecting virtually all transactions on a national scale. (Transparency International rates the U.S. 17th among 85 countries on its corruption scale; only Denmark is rated corruption free.)

SPREADING THE WORD: The article says the peaceful power shift in Kenya is causing excitement across Africa, where many countries, even poorer than Kenya, are run by dictators. Is Kenya's peaceful power shift sufficient to force political change elsewhere in Africa? Must Kibaki also provide economic opportunity for Kenyans? Suppose Kibaki asks the U.S. for economic aid? How should President Bush respond?

Upfront QUIZ 3

FILL IN THE BLANK DIRECTIONS: Write the correct answer on the line provided.

1. After 24 years running an autocratic government, President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya, a country located in--ern Africa, stepped down and allowed a peaceful transition of power.

2. The immediate cause of Moi's decision to relinquish power was Kenya's --, which forced him to leave office at the end of 2002.

3. Moi had wanted to choose his successor from his own political party, the Kenya Africa National Union, but people turned instead to a new colorful-sounding alliance of groups, called the National--Coalition.

4. Kenya's new President, Mwai Kibaki, has promised not only new economic opportunity for his people, but also an end to--, a practice that required people and businesses to pay bribes to get almost anything accomplished.

5. Kenya's economy is in such terrible shape and the majority of its 31 million citizens so poor that most people get by on less than $-- a day.

6. The political change in Kenya is causing excitement across Africa, which has more than 50 countries, many of which are in worse shape than Kenya. In one country, --, there is no government at all.

7. In another country, Togo, the President, who has been in office since 1967, recently changed the law so that he can stay in office for --.

8. In addition to deep poverty, Kenya also suffers from serious health problems. Among these is one of the world's highest infant mortality rates. Another is --, the terminal disease usually contracted from shared needles, contaminated blood, or sexual relations with an infected person.

9. The unemployment rate in Kenya is so high that even many--graduates cannot find jobs.

10. One of Kibaki's targets for improvement is access to education; he has promised to eliminate tuition for--school.

ANSWER KEY

1. east

2. constitution

3. Rainbow

4. corruption

5. $1.00

6. Somalia

7. life

8. AIDS

9. college

10. primary

MARC LACEY is the Nairobi bureau chief for The New York Times. Additional reporting by FAITH KARIMI.