Civil society groups in Kenya have set their sights on an upcoming referendum in a bid to prevent the government from pushing through an altered version of the country’s draft Constitution.
This comes after Parliament approved the amended draft at midnight last Thursday, by a vote of 102 to 61. The altered version of the document was initially put forward earlier this month during a retreat in the coastal town of Kilifi, attended by certain legislators.
The so-called Kilifi draft replaces a version agreed on last year by the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) — popularly referred to as the Bomas draft. This name derives from the venue where the NCC, a group drawn from a cross-section of Kenyan society, held its discussions: Bomas of Kenya, a cultural centre on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi.
While the Bomas draft transferred much of the power currently vested in the presidency to a newly created post of prime minister, the Kilifi draft allows for a powerful head of state and a prime minister with little authority. The latest draft of the Constitution will be put to a national vote in November after a campaign of civic education.
”We will defeat it at the referendum. We are able to mobilise the Kenyan people through running a massive parallel civic-education programme beginning August,” said Ng’ang’a Thiong’o, a human rights lawyer and member of the People’s Movement, which comprises non-governmental groups that are lobbying for constitutional reform.
”Once we educate the people on the shortfalls of the draft, then they will be in a position to vote wisely,” he said.
The Bomas draft was initially formulated by the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, appointed in 2000 to gauge the views of Kenyans about what they wished to see incorporated in their new Constitution. This document was intended to update the Constitution drawn up at independence from Britain in 1963.
One of the findings of the commission, which travelled throughout the country, was that citizens wanted restrictions on the executive — apparently in reaction to the abuse of presidential powers under former heads of state Daniel arap Moi and Jomo Kenyatta.
The decision to tamper with the Bomas draft is reportedly motivated by a power struggle between the two main wings of the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (Narc): the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Raila Odinga, and the National Alliance Party of Kenya, which supports President Mwai Kibaki.
Odinga is said to have been promised the post of prime minister ahead of Narc’s victory in the December 2002 election that saw power wrested from the Kenya African National Union, the party that had ruled the country since independence. The LDP’s calls for a weaker presidency have put it at odds with the National Alliance Party, which is lobbying for a powerful executive.
”The government is bulldozing its way because it is looking at the next general election: it is all about Kibaki’s succession,” political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi said. ”They may not be very sure if they will win the next election, but in the event they do … the issue of a powerful president will favour them.”
Kenya will next hold general elections in 2007.
The tug-of-war between the National Alliance Party and the LDP has delayed the delivery of a new Constitution to Kenyans, who were first promised the document within 100 days of Kibaki assuming office.
Parliament’s decision to pass the amended draft came after two days of headed debate, and violent demonstrations in Nairobi. One person was killed — allegedly a looter who was taking advantage of the mayhem — while several other persons were injured in running battles between protesters and police. In addition, more than 20 people were detained, including senior officials of civil society groups.
The protesters had intended to march on Parliament, in an effort to persuade legislators to reject amendments to the Bomas draft. However, police officers sealed off roads leading to the Parliament buildings.
Legislators passed the Kilifi draft in terms of the Consensus Act, introduced last year despite public protest, which gives Parliament the right to amend sections of the Bomas draft. Initially, parliamentarians were required to accept or reject the Bomas draft in its entirety.
Should the Constitution be given the green light in the referendum, it is expected to enter into force by December. — IPS