This constitution review: How not to lose it

The Constitution of Kenya Review Act 2008 created a Committee of Experts (CoE) as a key organ in the review process. The CoE, though not expressly mandated, was expected to exhaustively consult with all stakeholders and get views on the process and content of the constitution before the production of a draft.

The spirit of the law also required them to conduct civic education every step of the way. So far, the CoE has abandoned civic education (and opts to stick to the 30 day expressly provided for in the law) and has made a joke of consultations. In so doing, the CoE has consolidated negativity against it from the political class, the civil society and the religious sector. BUT IT MUST BE SEEN THAT THE CoE CAN ARGUE, CORRECTLY, THAT IT ACTED WITHIN THE LAW!

There is therefore a great possibility that when the bill is published, even as we wait for parliament to debate it, there will be alot of negative publicity about it and this may lead to the formenting of attitude against the bill.

We ask that all campaign for a Yes-Yes referendum (even if this means changing the law) and this means as follows: We have two otherwise identical drafts;

• One espousing the Presidential system of Government
• The other the Parliamentary system of Government

Voters then will vote YES for the one they want to have. If one voter choses one, (s)he votes YES. If another voter choses the other, (s)he votes YES - hence the YES-YES referendum!

Of course there are arguments against this: who said this is the single most critical issue? Can we mix an issue referendum with the constitutional referendum? Where has this ever happened before? etc etc . But what alternative do you offer? The present constitution? Thats what the CKR Act does.

But let the truth be told...

IF WE GO TO THE REFERENDUM WITH A YES/NO VOTE ON A SINGLE DRAFT, IT WILL MEAN THAT A NO! VOTE FOR THE PROPOSED DRAFT IS A YES! VOTE FOR THE PRESENT CONSTITUTION

NANI ANATAKA KURUDIA KUVAA MATAMBARA KAMA KUNA UWEZEKANO WA KUVAA VASI JIPYA?

The least we can bargain for (God forbid!) is having the contentious issues removed from the draft to be taken for the referendum (and passed later after further consultations) Kenyans must have a new framework. Let not the rotten pieces be put in the same pot with the clean and healthy others. SO GOD HELP KENYA!

Positions
1. A new constitution is overdue; we can not afford another failure
2. Politicians want a Yes/no referendum so as to shoot down the process ...actually politicians want a YES/NO referendum so that they can plan 2012
3. We have to safeguard the gains we have made so far in the 2 decades of advocacy
4. CoE has not consulted enough and has consolidated negativity against its action
5. We must get it right this time; we have been at it for 2 decades


Click on the link below to join this advocacy cause on facebook

http://www.causes.com/causes/374669

coffee with kofi

wanna take some coffee with kofi anan?

this is what you would most likely discuss:

1. the government is not committed to a reform agenda (whether 1 or 4)
2. the gang that is in leadership is comfortable with status quo...kibaki and raila are such buddies they traverse the countryside like collossusses(sic)
3. nobody wants a new constitution; its design is such that it may make the presidency weak and hence unattractive (honestly kofi, can you imagine raila as a ceremonial president?)
4. agenda 4 is not attractive to politics, and we are a political people, so can we make it a political contest instead of being real work?
5. this icc will work for kibaki and raila...you see, they negotiated themselves out of the envelope and you know that...so it will assist them sort out a few of their enemies and clip the wings of more ambitious fellows
6. kalonzo...ah! forget kalonzo, he stands for nothing, not even himself for he has not even defined that...
7. the idps were shortchanged, their money took long to come, it was too little, and it was stolen before it got to them, and nobody seems to know where to take them
8. police reforms? what's that? yes, ali is gone to post letters, if that can be called reforms
9. but kofi, who has sent you? to whom do you REALLY report?

oh, my coffee is cold

what a way to start a week!

TJRC, tribunal, special court oooh hooo!

Sometimes i think it would have been a better country if there was a way of having the citizenship of kibaki and raila (complete with their hangers on and their mis-advisors and collaborators and all) to Kenya recanted.

Limousines

the rejection by kibaki of the limousines is a good development, albeit too little too late.

lets not dampen the gesture, lets encourage it, and as we do, we remind bwana kibaki that his fleet as is is still too huge, and the cost for maintenance is prohibitive. he can do more, he can sell some of them for public good

the waste of national resources on running the affairs of individuals and offices that could use lesser strenuous resources is endemic in this country

consider a situation where in some countries ministers have no elaborate security detail because since they are public servants, they are under no threat from anybody.

those kenyan ministers who are resisting the move are petty and wasteful. kibaki and raila, in restructuring the cabinet to fit the 24 number proposed by the ag (i hope it is not a "reformist" prank), can consider removing them from office.

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come to think of it, i took my 1290cc limousine out this last week end, 170 kms out of nairobi and back, and spend about shs 1,500 on fuel! this means that i spend slightly below kshs 5 on fuel per kilometer! ... i deliberately will not say anything about tear and wear or the body work... but...does the government want to borrow it for official functions?

The civil society today

Until 2002, everybody was all praises for the civil society and its work...of course even the people who fought it, knew that they had no point, because the movement towards democratisation of kenya was on top gear.

After that, and until today, we as a society are stuck with the 2002 image and euphoria.

For starters, the failure of the kibaki first administration, the bedevilled MOU, the fruit wars of 2005 and the polarisation of the country were made even more poignant by the fact that it was seen that civil society had been divided along ethnic and other lines and inevitably had taken partisan positions.

the pre-2002 civil society leaders were protangonists in public and therefore the line between reformist and non-reformist was obliterated, and since these people had been perceived as the leaders of the civil society, the leaders of the reform agenda, a harsh judgement was passed on civil society: that it comprises of, at the best, self seekers

the most tragic thing about this has been that there are two views that have never left the table: that the civil society post-2002 was weakened, and that the civil society is not providing leadership on national discourse. this view has constantly been propangated by the media, the political leadership and some elements in the general populace.

the fact that the civil society today faces a country which no longer has faith in any institution is not contested, neither is the fact that some soul searching is necessary for all of us, the civil society included.

the civil society, its methodology in advocacy, its engagement with the larger society and its engagement with the political leadership and the media has changed, greately so.

I think therefore that this is the genesis of the problem ... that people do not understand the "new" civil society and its ethos, that the leaders of the "new" civil society are not those of yesterday, and therefore that you can not use the yardsticks of yesterday to measure today.

face it: people, viewpoints, institutions and processes change. one must appreciate change before proceeding to make highfalutin pronouncements.

today for instance, we face the fastest clawing back of democratic gains made so far...some say it is a conspiracy of the ruling elite, others say it is a failure by the middle class... i think it is neither; it indeed is fermenting of dissent that is being catalysed


may we avoid stasis as this is an incurable a malady as there can be.

How to make a new constitution in Kenya today

A new constitution, a new social contract for the people of Kenya and its leaders should be developed as soon as possible and guarded against an impending overthrow by parliament.

Parliamentarians have taken their role of lawmaking a notch higher and are proposing themselves as a "Constituent Assembly" through the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya Review Act 2008. This is unlawful and is prone to legal challenge. The civil society and religious groups and other actors have pointed at this misnomer since the Act was put in place in December 08 but to date, even in the Kenya Statute [Miscellaneous Amendment] Bill 2009, the intent to disenfranchise Kenyans is rife.

Parliamentarians are Kenyans, but they are elected for parliamentary function and not for constitution making. If, as is the case today, they make a law that ensures that they are the ones - and only ones - to be the clearing house of the new constitution for Kenya, this is unacceptable. Likewise, the political party sideshows of "minimum" and "comprehensive" reforms are time-wasting pranks that show the lack of leadership in this country. We need a new constitution, not political grandstanding.

It is a torturous road towards a new constitution, and we have made good steps so far as a nation. We should neither lose hope nor accept disenfranchisement. We require the MPs to amend the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill to reflect the following:

1. That the Reference Group be expanded to include the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) and other groups (such as parliamentary political party representatives) as may be necessary after review of the proposals made - as substantive members, and the Committee of Experts [CoE] - as ex-official.

2. That this group be renamed Council of Reference and be given a substantive role in the constitution making process. As it is, it is at the mercy of the CoE in terms of convening and it has no role as such.

3. That the non-consensus issues be debated by the Council of Reference and passed for adoption by parliament

4. That parliament, since it will be represented in the Council of Reference by the PSC and other parliamentarians, will have no role in proposing further amendments to the Draft Constitution before it is published by the AG. However, where parliament has proposals, these will be processed and consensus build on them by the Council of Reference.

5. That where consensus is developed on issues, these be input in the draft to go for a national YES referendum. This will be a document WITHOUT contentious issues, a document that contains all issues that Kenyans agree on - it will contain what has been popularly known as the 80% good provisions!

6. That where there is lack of consensus on an issue, this issue be put aside framed into a question for an issue-referendum {YES/NO}. This will mean that the majority vote on the issue is the decision to be upheld. If this does not happen, further consensus can be built on them even after the referendum on the main document has passed.

7. That a specific timeframe (at most 2 years) for resolution of these non-consensus issues be set and adhered to. In this time of renegotiation, Kenyans will be enjoying a new {though incomplete} constitution - which is FAR MUCH better than the tattered one we have now.

This is the ONLY way of ensuring that we have a new constitutional framework and that we do not have disagreements leading to a useless document, hence a political campaign for a NO vote that will have no other role but to divide Kenyans the more.

Let nobody call these Minumum Reforms, for it is not. This is a progressive way of achieving comprehensive reforms.