Jubilee, the 2013 coalition juggernaut and later party that Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto rode to power on, once aspired to be the all-powerful Communist Party of China, also known as the Chinese Communist Party.
So determined was Jubilee that it invited CPC officials to Nairobi, and also travelled to Beijing to borrow lessons.
For instance, on July 14, 2016, a delegation from CPC held a training session for the then-ruling Jubilee coalition in Nairobi. Months later in September, a delegation of 50 Jubilee officials travelled to China to deepen ties with CPC.
In this training seminar, CPC shared party development tips with Jubilee "in an effort to realise political stability in Kenya, as well as achieve prosperity and grow the economy".
Prof Hu Jianhua, executive vice president for the Party School of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region committee of CPC, said for any party to develop, it must put in place systems that will ensure its consistency throughout different regimes, which has been lacking in Kenya.
He added that one of CPC's key contributors to its success is a commitment to democratic centralism, a Marxism–Leninism principle, as a decisive factor for the party’s long-running government in the country. Formed in 1921, the CCP has been in power since 1949.
"It's precisely stipulated in our party constitution that lower-level party organisations submit to higher-level organisations, the minority submits to the majority, individuals submit to organisations, and the whole party and members submit to the party central committee," Hu said.
Hu added that for any party to survive and thrive, it is important to tighten its member discipline.
Then Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju said Kenya was keen to borrow lessons from the CPC not only to develop the party but also grow the economy.
"It's obvious across the globe that when the ruling political party is strong and consistent, the country becomes stable. Political competition is conflictual and if it cannot be contained within the party, the party differences flow into the country and in our case, where political parties are ethnic in nature, they result in communities fighting against each other," Tuju said, further announcing Jubilee was planning to establish an academy.
This, he said, was to help build its membership based on ideologies, policies and programmes, as opposed to the situation where parties are essentially mobilised on ethnic basis.
In September 2018, another delegation led by Wu Yuliang, the deputy head of the Organisation Department of the CPC Central Committee, made a three-day visit to Kenya.
The delegation met with then National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi (Attorney General) and Tuju and discussed ways of furthering relations between the CPC and Jubilee Party.
In March 2021, CPC and Jubilee top officials met virtually to again deepen cooperation and exchanges. This was ahead of the 2022 elections.
In the meeting with Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Tuju spoke highly of China's achievements in economic and social development under the CPC leadership. This was around the time CPC marked its centennial.
One test of a political system is its ability to manage political transitions, and despite seeking lessons from CPC, Jubilee is now a skeleton of its former self, currently entangled in factional wars.
There are reasons this arrangement did not work due to the differences in political and party systems, political institutions, power dynamics, and political culture and development in the two countries.
China's political system revolves around the CPC, which has maintained a political monopoly since Mao Zedong founded the People’s Republic 0f China in 1949. There are other eight parties but as ruling partners.
Despite criticism, especially from the West, the party has overseen the country’s rapid economic growth and rise as a global power.
Lindsay Maizland and Eleanor Albert in their paper The Chinese Communist Party for Council on Foreign Affairs say since the 1990s, CPC has shown a technocratic capacity to respond to the developmental stresses brought on by China’s economic rise.
"Today, the party has harnessed the rewards of globalization and economic development, lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty. The CCP has reimagined itself as a driver of change, guiding the country’s path to wealth and fueling a sentiment of national pride,” they write.
As of 2021, the party membership had expanded to a record 96.71 million members, according to official statistics, a 3.7 per cent increase over the year.
One of the key differences is the political system in which the two parties operate. While China’s "whole-process people’s democracy" political construction and socialism with Chinese characteristics is unique to their politics, Kenya largely borrows from the West.
The other point of departure is ideology politics. Jubilee, just like many parties since the fall of Kanu, cannot pride itself to have had a foundational ideology. In fact, observers have argued it was a marriage of convenience in 2013.
Ideology matters more in China than in many other political systems.
And unlike many parties in Kenya that are owned by individuals or based on tribal basis, CPC has since defeating the Kuomintang built its structures from the top and right to the grassroots across the country. Of course, it has had the age advantage, and probably only Kanu came close to this.
The formal Chinese political system places a heavy emphasis on long-term planning.
At five-year intervals, the Communist Party General Secretary presents a report to the Party Congress outlining priorities for the country.
China also prepares 'Five-Year Plans' that set economic, demographic, and social targets and identify priority industries for development.
For instance, the roadmap for scientific development covers the period through 2050. While such plans may not be followed to the latter, they have a huge role in guiding official policy.
It has also adopted a long-term planning approach to grooming future leaders, an aspect that lacks is Kenya's party system.
Former Party General Secretary Hu Jintao is often cited as an example of an official who was groomed for high office over a lengthy period, since 1992.
The party has also had to adapt to changes through party reforms, and has since 1978 built a set of governing institutions and a system of laws to handle rapid economic and social development at home and in the international system.
But like in every other country, the institutional reforms have not solved all enduring challenges in the Chinese system.
Chinese political culture also features carefully observed systems of ranks that identify the relative importance of people, official agencies, public institutions, state-owned corporations and geographic units.
In Kenya, however, there is more focus on the identity and importance of the individual, usually the party leader, more than the party as an institution.
It is also important to note that since Kanu fell from power in 2002, no other party has formed government by itself but through coalitions. This has to a huge extent affected the party strength in a huge way, reducing parties to electoral vehicles. Probably only ODM has remained dominant through the elections since 2007.
The poor management of parties in Kenya and party indiscipline have been a problem, often resulting in splinter groups that weaken the main party. This happened to Jubilee.
Ties between Jubilee Party and CPC and the discussed areas of cooperation have stalled. Instead, CPC is warming up to UDA, which is now in power under the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, with its officials making a visit to Nairobi in October 2022.
"As we benchmark with the Communist Party of China, we only admire their party strength and structures. We, therefore, urge them to copy our Party UDA Kenya in advocating for democracy, human rights and free and fair elections," then UDA chairman Johnson Muthama tweeted.
Again, in February 2023, at the invitation of UDA, a CPC delegation led by Li Mingxiang, deputy minister of the International Department of the Central Committee, visited Kenya and briefed party officials on the 20th CPC National Congress.
The delegation met UDA leader President William Ruto, and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, and held talks with then secretary general Veronica Maina.
An observation can be made from this: CPC's alignment is with the ruling party. This observation can be buttressed by previous events.
In June 2010, President Mwai Kibaki met Wang Gang, vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, to enhance collaboration between the CPC and PNU.
However, as it happened to PNU and Jubilee, the same fate risks befalling UDA-CPC ties because of the inherent historical differences in the two political systems.
That, however, shouldn't negatively affect the bilateral relations with the government in place.