by William Ondenge
I am truly disappointed by some of our leaders in Kenya. They debate the constitution like it was meant for their political parties. They are taking very hard-lined positions on the harmonized draft constitution. They don’t want to think about their electorate. However, they are ready to sell their dirty and cheap propaganda to the common mwananchi. Little do they comprehend that they are sitting on a time bomb for change. The wave of the Obama “Yes We Can” slogan is our inspiration for a brighter tomorrow. A future that is not characterized by our ethnicity, race, religion, economic status, corruption, but by the sharing of our unity and sense of purpose that yes, together we can.
Someone needs to remind our politicians that whoever is not on the side of the citizens is destined to fail miserably. I think it is time for us to tell them that we have mastered their art of hypocrisy and betrayal. We understand their cunning nature.
Actually, the struggle for a new constitution has taken our country decades because some politicians have always hijacked the process from its citizenry. They have in the past manipulated the constitutional review process to favour their offices. They have denied us for a long time our democratic participation to suggest what we want in a new constitution.
I want to say candidly that this is not the time for politicians to express their knowledge in the types or systems of government they want, whether it is presidential, parliamentary or hybrid. This is the time to be innovative, a time to be creative.
Indeed, Kenyans have had enough shares of their own problems because of a weak and paralyzed constitution. This is the time to merge the best of all the systems of governments to ensure that: the Executive and legislative authority in Kenya is exercised for the benefit of the people and communities in Kenya and must serve the people and that Executive and legislative power should be exercised within clear limits and subject to proper checks and balances. This will give us a home made solution to our historical problems as the hope given to us by the draft.
Let me remind my fellow citizens and friends of good will that the path to constitutional and institutional reform in Kenya has taken exceedingly long and that there was urgent need for a new constitutional order to avert the type of Kenya we all witnessed in the last post election violence in which Kenyans killed one another. Over 1200 Kenyans died, 300,000 were displaced and millions worth of property destroyed.
The CoE observed that Kenyans were capable of making suitable choices to give effect to the provisions of sections 4 and 6 of the Constitution of Kenya Review Act, 2008 which refer to the objects and principles of constitution making in Kenya respectively.
We understand that there were contentions on the transitional clauses of the past three drafts; and the harmonized draft constitution has brought us a basis for peaceful transition to a new order because it includes and acknowledges past mistakes and the need to remedy them.