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POLITICS-KENYA: Another Deadline Goes By
By Joyce Mulama
NAIROBI, Jul 1 (IPS) - Thursday, Jul.1, should have been the day that Kenya
woke up to a new constitution that set the country on a path of improved
governance and development. But yet again, government has failed to deliver
this document to the people.
President Mwai Kibaki, who came into office at the end of 2002, first
promised that a new constitution would be in hand by the end of his first
100 days in office.
However, political wrangling between the different factions that make up
the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) prompted Kibaki to extend this
deadline another three times - with the latest date set being Jun. 30, 2004.
In an address on national television Monday, Jun. 28, the president said,
"The June 30 target was set in good faith and is evidence of my personal
commitment to a speedy conclusion of the review process. It is now obvious
to Kenyans that despite the commendable efforts made, it will not be
possible to have the new constitution by June 30."
A national constitutional conference, mandated to review Kenya's
constitution, opened at a venue called 'Bomas of Kenya' near the capital,
Nairobi, in Apr. 2003. Over 600 delegates from parliament, religious groups
and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) met in the subsequent months to
draft a new constitution. This document was issued in Sep. 2003 by the
Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.
The draft contains clauses which activists believe will help in the fight
against corruption.
"It puts in place institutional checks making government departments more
accountable," Ababu Namwamba, Chief Counsel for the Nairobi-based Chambers
of Justice International, told IPS. This NGO monitors the extent of graft in
government departments, amongst other things.
Kenya ranked 123rd in the 2003 'Corruption Perceptions Index' issued by
Transparency International, an anti-corruption NGO headquartered in Berlin.
The index surveyed 133 countries according the levels of corruption that
business executives, academics and others perceive to exist in these states.
The handful of countries that were thought of as more corrupt than Kenya
included Angola, Nigeria and Haiti.
However, deep divisions have developed within NARC about a clause in the
draft that seeks to shift some of the president's powers into the hands of a
prime minister (a post created by the new constitution). These clauses were
introduced because of perceptions that the extensive powers granted to the
presidency under the existing constitution had, on occasion, been abused.
In Mar. 2004 members of the National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK), led
by Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Kiraitu Murungi, stormed out
of the constitutional conference to protest against the shifting of powers.
But, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) voted for the clause. Key LDP
member Raila Odinga, also the Minister for Roads and Public Works, was
reportedly promised the post of prime minister in return for supporting
Kibaki in the Dec. 2002 election.
The draft constitution was later handed over to parliament for a debate
that has not materialised.
In what some viewed as an attempt to maintain presidential powers,
Murungi passed two bills earlier this year giving parliament the right to
amend the draft constitution. However, both were later withdrawn.
Legislators currently have the right to accept or reject, but not alter,
the draft constitution - although a new bill is being proposed that would
allow some compromise on this matter.
"I appeal to all members of parliament to enact the proposed amendments
into law as soon as possible," said Kibaki in his televised address. "It is
vital that we get the review process quickly back on track. This will
provide the necessary institutional framework for a structured dialogue, to
facilitate agreement on the contentious issues."
Government's failure to meet its Jun. 30 deadline has not been greeted
warmly by critics.
"Kibaki and his government have done little to bring a new constitution
for the country. In fact his statement is hollow because he is not telling
Kenyans when to expect a new constitution. If it's not 2004, then when?"
asks Wahu Kaara, Co-convenor of Bomas Katiba Watch, a lobby group comprising
delegates to the constitutional conference who are pushing for the draft
document to be adopted.
"Kibaki.is not offering leadership to this country, but instead has left
his ministers to 'mis-advise' him and the nation as a whole", Kaara told IPS
in Nairobi. This is a reference to a declaration by Murungi this month, in
which he stated that he had misled the president into believing that the new
constitution would be ready by Jun. 30.
Bomas Katiba Watch is organising a public rally this Saturday, Jul. 3,
where LDP stalwarts are expected to have their say. NAK is also expected to
hold a meeting just a strone's throw away, prompting fears of clashes
between those in attendance at the two gatherings.
(END/2004)
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