After resounding victories by the ruling parties in Botswana and South Africa in 1999, the two countries found themselves wrestling with the same questions facing Kenya today, after formation of the grand coalition government.

The victories made nonsense of the opposition, and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and his then Botswana counterpart, Festus Mogae, were accused of endangering multi-party democracy by seeking total victory.

Questions were raised about their democratic credentials because their actions had nearly killed opposition politics.

Just like Kenya, the opposition's presence in Botswana became negligible, with many people worrying that the ruling party would always have its way.

Reduce number

Citizens of Botswana raised concern that under Mogae's watch, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) had routed its opponents in the 1999 elections and reduced the number of opposition MPs in the then 44-strong Parliament from 13 to seven.

But Mogae's take on the matter has vital lessons for Kenya.

He said something to the effect that weakening the opposition did not mean there would be no opposition.

He asserted that if rival parties failed to take the BDP to task, there would be internal opposition to keep the ruling party in check. He was right as events have proved in Botswana and elsewhere, including Kenya.

Ruling parties

Right from independence in Kenya and Botswana, the most effective opposition has been from within the ruling parties. In the early years of independent Kenya, ruling party MPs like JM Kariuki, Jean-Marie Seroney, Oginga Odinga, Martin Shikuku, Masinde Muliro and Bildad Kagia provided the main opposition to the powers that be.

When Daniel arap Moi succeeded Jomo Kenyatta as President, he still had to contend with internal opposition even after he made Kenya a de jure one party state. There was the group dubbed the Seven Bearded sisters by then attorney-general Charles Njonjo. They gave the Front Bench a tough time in Parliament.

They included now Lands minister James Orengo, Koigi wa Wamwere, Mashengu Mwachofi, Wamalwa Kijana and George Anyona.

In the new era of multi-party politics, Moi had to live with internal opposition from people like Simeon Nyachae, Kipruto Kirwa and Kipkalya Kones.

After two failures by opposition parties, they finally kicked Kanu out in 2002 with the crucial help of an internal revolt.

It is obvious that, had the internal opposition in Kanu not grown into a fully-fledged revolt, the independence party would still be in power. That revolt came when the opposition was nowhere near dislodging it in its third attempt.

After Kanu was kicked out, it was the turn of President Kibaki and the ruling Narc alliance to be rocked by internal opposition and humiliation from the Labour Democratic Party (LDP).

Palace operation

Indeed, the LDP, not Kanu, provided the most effective check on the powers that be. The defeat the government suffered in the 2005 referendum was a palace operation masterminded by the LDP brigade.

In South Africa, the camp supporting ANC president Jacob Zuma has been a more effective check on Mbeki's power ambitions than the entire official opposition. Though he has been accused of concentrating too much power in his hands, Mbeki still lost to Zuma in the battle for control in the ANC and has to watch his back, not because of the opposition, but due to internal detractors within the party.

In matters of policy, he must always be careful about the reaction of the huge constituency supporting Zuma. Mbeki experienced his most humiliating political moment when Zuma and his allies swept the board in ANC elections last year.

In the dual political system that is Botswana - de jure multi-party state and de facto one-party state - the BDP back bench, and sometimes even the front bench, has played a key role in keeping the ruling party in check.

A remarkable case of opposition from the front bench was when Mogae and his then vice-president, Ian Khama, united to thwart a plot by cabinet ministers and ruling party MPs to increase their pay.

The matter became public when BDP back bencher Michael Tshipinare tabled a motion in Parliament calling for the hike.

In one of his contributions, Mr Khama slammed the MPs and ministers and stormed out before the stunned MPs could respond to his speech. The matter was put to rest when Mogae declared that there is no money for the proposed salary hikes.

And last month, opposition came from the front bench when Cabinet minister Margaret Nasha successfully led in blocking controversial plans to give the BDP president - who is automatically the head of state -summary disciplinary powers in the party.

In fact, the most important motions debated or passed by the by Parliament have come from BDP leaders. These include Oliphant Mfa's motion calling for making the Botswana Constitution tribally neutral and Joy Phumaphi's on declaration of wealth by leaders.

In recent times, three of the ruling party' MPs have been a thorn in its flesh, with two, Duke Lefhoko and Boyce Sebetela being summoned for a disciplinary hearing. The three MPs annoyed the BDP with their independent and hard-hitting contributions in Parliament.

The danger with internal opposition in the BDP is that in some cases, the party's high command can effectively call the dissenters to order. This means is that in a multi-party set-up, Kenya does not necessarily need an official opposition per se to keep the powers that be in check.