The Anatomy of Authoritarianism: Power Saturation and the Reproductive Logic of Repression in Africa

Abstract

This paper examines the enduring patterns of state-sponsored repression in Africa, with a particular focus on Kenya, where successive postcolonial governments have presided over systematic violations of human rights. Under the Kenyatta and Moi regimes, the state deployed a repertoire of coercive tactics including repressive legislation, arbitrary detention, harassment, torture, and targeted violence to silence dissent and consolidate political authority. These abuses were facilitated by constitutional and institutional arrangements that concentrated power in the executive, including deliberate manipulation of presidential term limits and the instrumentalization of development to achieve political advantage. Although Kenya has undergone significant political transformations, including the reintroduction of multiparty politics and constitutional reforms, the legacy of authoritarian governance continues to shape contemporary political behavior and state-society relations. Anchored in theoretical perspectives that link torture to institutional and structural violence, the paper interrogates the use of torture as a political technology and a historically embedded craft of repression in Kenya. It argues that despite Kenya’s formal commitment to regional and international human rights norms such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights practices of coercion and impunity persist, revealing a persistent disjuncture between legal frameworks and political practice. By historicizing the “extension of power syndrome” and its implications for democratic governance, the paper illuminates the ways in which entrenched executive dominance undermines the realization and enjoyment of fundamental rights. Ultimately, this study contributes to broader scholarly debates on authoritarianism, repression, and human rights in Africa, offering insights into the institutional continuities that sustain illiberal political orders.